All Topics  
SARD

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

SARD
 
 
  Topics SARD Topic Home

is a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi
Toyota, Aichi

||-||-||}, aka Toyota City is a cities of Japan located in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of Nagoya, Aichi....
, mainly competing in the Super GT
Super GT

The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a sports car racing race series promoted by the GT-Association ....
 series and specialising in Toyota tuning parts.

company was formed in 1972 as Sigma Automotive Co., Ltd by Shin Kato to develop and produce motorsport related parts and accessories as well as operating their own racing team. Sigma began its racing career in the Fuji Grand Champion Series
Fuji Grand Champion Series

The ran from 1971 to 1989. It was a drivers' championship in Japan and was originally for 2 litre Group B6 cars....
 and for the following year participated for the first time in the 24 hour of Le Mans
1973 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 41st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 9 and June 10, 1973. It was the eighth round of the World Sportscar Championship....
 with their Sigma MC73, powered by a Mazda
Mazda

is a Japanese automaker based in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It is part owned by the Ford Motor Company.During 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales....
 Wankel engine
Wankel engine

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine which uses a rotary combustion engine to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating piston engine....
, becoming the first Japanese car to qualify for Le Mans, before retiring early in the race with electrical problems. The team returned for the following year
1974 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 42nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 15 and June 16, 1974. It was the fifth round of the World Sportscar Championship....
 with a Mazda
Mazda

is a Japanese automaker based in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It is part owned by the Ford Motor Company.During 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales....
 backed MC74, finishing but not making enough laps to be classified.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'SARD'
Start a new discussion about 'SARD'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


is a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi
Toyota, Aichi

||-||-||}, aka Toyota City is a cities of Japan located in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of Nagoya, Aichi....
, mainly competing in the Super GT
Super GT

The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a sports car racing race series promoted by the GT-Association ....
 series and specialising in Toyota tuning parts.

History

The company was formed in 1972 as Sigma Automotive Co., Ltd by Shin Kato to develop and produce motorsport related parts and accessories as well as operating their own racing team. Sigma began its racing career in the Fuji Grand Champion Series
Fuji Grand Champion Series

The ran from 1971 to 1989. It was a drivers' championship in Japan and was originally for 2 litre Group B6 cars....
 and for the following year participated for the first time in the 24 hour of Le Mans
1973 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 41st Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 9 and June 10, 1973. It was the eighth round of the World Sportscar Championship....
 with their Sigma MC73, powered by a Mazda
Mazda

is a Japanese automaker based in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It is part owned by the Ford Motor Company.During 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales....
 Wankel engine
Wankel engine

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine which uses a rotary combustion engine to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating piston engine....
, becoming the first Japanese car to qualify for Le Mans, before retiring early in the race with electrical problems. The team returned for the following year
1974 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 42nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 15 and June 16, 1974. It was the fifth round of the World Sportscar Championship....
 with a Mazda
Mazda

is a Japanese automaker based in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It is part owned by the Ford Motor Company.During 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales....
 backed MC74, finishing but not making enough laps to be classified. In 1975
1975 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 43rd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 14 and June 15, 1975....
 the team switched to a Toyota powerplant in the MC75, only to suffer from another early retirement.

Sigma Automotive would continue to compete in numerous domestic series. In 1985, the racing division of Sigma Automotive became an independent company, Kato established a company called Sigma Advanced Racing Development (SARD) specialising in motorsport as well as producing aftermarket parts for Toyota automobiles.

SARD returned to international motorsports in 1989, debuting as a Toyota backed team named Toyota Team SARD in the first round of World Sports Prototype Championship held in Suzuka
Suzuka Circuit

, Suzuka Circuit for short, is a co-host of the Formula One Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix, and is one of the oldest and most famous motorsport race tracks in Japan....
, using a Toyota 89C-V, also competing in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship
All Japan Sports Prototype Championship

The , abbreviated as JSPC, formed by the Japanese Automobile Federation, was a domestic championship which took place in Japan for Group C and IMSA GTP prototype cars and also featured cars that were eligible for touring car racing in its earlier years....
. With the demise of Group C
Group C

Group C was a category of motorsport, introduced by the FIA in 1982 for sports car racing, along with Group A for touring car racings and Group B for Gran Turismo s....
 in 1993, SARD switched to the newly formed JGTC
Super GT

The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a sports car racing race series promoted by the GT-Association ....
 series and also return to Le Mans with a V8 powered MR2
Toyota MR2

The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, MR layout, rear wheel drive sports car produced by Toyota from 1984 until July 2007 when production stopped in Japan, in three different design series....
 known as the MC8-R
Toyota MR2

The Toyota MR2 is a two-seat, MR layout, rear wheel drive sports car produced by Toyota from 1984 until July 2007 when production stopped in Japan, in three different design series....
, having the same spell of misfortune as they had during the 1970s, competing in 1995
1996 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 15 and June 16, 1996....
 and 1996
1996 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 15 and June 16, 1996....
, only to fail to pre-qualify in the face of the newer generations of GT1 cars in the following year
1997 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 65th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 14 and June 15, 1997....
. SARD continued to compete in the JGTC with a works Supra
Toyota Supra

The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider....
. The team now races with a Lexus SC430
Lexus SC

The Lexus SC series is a personal luxury car coup? sold by Lexus since 1991. The SC features a FR layout design and seating for up to four passengers....
, with Sato's son Shinji working as a Chief Engineer.. In 2006, SARD has also competed at the 24 Hours of Tokachi, a Super Taikyu race, with a hybrid powered Lexus GS450h
Lexus GS

The Lexus GS is a series of mid-size luxury car sports sedans / executive cars sold by Lexus since 1993. Designed to fill the gap between the Lexus ES and Lexus LS, and to provide Lexus with a sports sedan to compete in the mid-size class, three generations of the GS have been produced to date....
 finishing 4th in class and 17th overall.

For the following year, SARD took their Super GT specification Supra out of retirement, installed a hybrid version
Hybrid Synergy Drive

Hybrid Synergy Drive, is a set of hybrid car technologies developed by Toyota and used in the company's Toyota Prius, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, Lexus GS#GS 450h, and Lexus LS#LS 600h .2F LS 600h L automobiles....
 of its Super GT 3UZ-FE
Toyota UZ engine

The Toyota UZ engine family is a multi-valve DOHC V8 piston engine series used in Toyota's luxury offerings and SUV. It was produced in three basic versions, the 1UZ-FE, 2UZ-FE, and 3UZ-FE....
 engine, giving out and of torque. The Supra, rechristened as Denso SARD Supra HV-R and driven by series regulars André Couto
André Couto

Andr? Couto is a Portugal racing driver who races with a Macau license....
, Akira Iida
Akira Iida

is a Japanese racing driver that is currently competes in the GT300 category of the Super GT series. First driving in the series since 1994, Iida has won five races altogether and took one driver's title in 2002....
, Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Tatsuya Kataoka started on pole and dominated the race effortlessly throughout to the end which it finished 19 more laps over the runner up, completing 616 laps. It became the first hybrid-powered car to win a race.

In addition, SARD develop and manufacture tuning parts mainly for Toyota cars, namely turbocharger
Turbocharger

A turbocharger, or turbo, is a gas compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine. Like a supercharger, the purpose of a turbocharger is to increase the mass of air entering the engine to create more power....
s, redesigned fuel system
Fuel system

Fuel systems Fuel the [Aircraft system|Aircraft system] that allows the crew to store, manage and deliver fuel to the propulsion system. Fuel system differ greatly due to different performance of the aircraft in which they are installed....
s and cooling system
Intercooler

An intercooler, or charge air cooler, is an air-to-air or air-to-liquid heat exchanger used on Turbocharger and Supercharger internal combustion engines to improve their volumetric efficiency by increasing intake air charge density through Isochoric process cooling....
s, suspension
Suspension (vehicle)

Suspension is the term given to the system of spring , shock absorbers and Linkage that connects a vehicle to its wheels. Suspension systems serve a dual purpose ? contributing to the car's car handling and brake for good active safety and driving pleasure, and keeping vehicle occupants comfortable and reasonably well isolated from road no...
 parts and aerodynamic kits
Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is a branch of Dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them....
. The company is not restricted to Toyotas as they are well known within the aftermarket tuning
Car tuning

Car tuning is both an industry and a hobby, in which a car is modified in order to improve its performance and handling and improve the owner's driving style....
 market for their fueling components used by numerous tuning companies. Also, under as SARD Marine Project, a separate project to its car works, it builds and sell its Toyota powered motorboat
Motorboat

A motorboat is a Boat propelled by an internal combustion engine or electric motor driving a pump jet or a propeller. The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea defines a "power driven vessel" as any vessel propelled by machinery and even a sailboat while it has an engine running is technically a power driven ves...
s.

External links