View source for Toyota TF101

{{Short description|Unraced Formula One racing car}}
{{expand french|topic=car|date=December 2021}}
{{Racing car |
  Car_name         = Toyota TF101 |
  Image            = Toyota TF101 (side view).jpg |
Caption=The 2001 Toyota TF101 (AM01)|
  Category         = [[Formula One]] |
  Constructor      = [[Toyota Racing (Formula One team)|Toyota]] |
  Designer         = [[André de Cortanze]] {{smaller|(Technical Director)}}<br />[[Jean-Claude Martens]] {{smaller|(Chief Designer)}} |
  Successor        = [[Toyota TF102|TF102]] |
  Team             = [[Panasonic]] [[Toyota F1|Toyota Racing]] |
  Drivers          = {{flagicon|Finland}} [[Mika Salo]]<br>{{flagicon|Great Britain}} [[Allan McNish]] |
  Chassis          = carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite [[monocoque]] |
  Front suspension =  Push rod with Torsion bar |
  Rear suspension  =  Push rod with Torsion bar |
  Engine name      =  Toyota RVX01|
  Capacity         =  |
  Configuration    =  |
  Turbo/NA         =  |
  Engine position  =  |
  Gearbox name     =  |
  Gears            =  Six Gear, |
  Type             =  Semi-Automatic |
  Differential     =  |
  Fuel             = [[Esso]] |
  Tyres            = [[Michelin]] |
  Debut            = [[List of acronyms and initialisms: N#NA|N/A]]  |
  Races            =  ''0''|
  Wins             =  ''0''|
  Cons_champ       =  ''0''|
  Drivers_champ    =  ''0''|
  Poles            =  ''0''|
  Fastest_laps     =  ''0''|
}}
The '''Toyota TF101''' was a Formula One car used solely for testing purposes during the 2001 season, in preparation for the team's full-scale assault on the series in 2002. The car was designed by [[Toyota F1|Toyota F1's]] chief of chassis Jean-Claude Martens and was driven by [[Mika Salo]] and [[Allan McNish]]. The TF101 was unofficially called the "AM01" by Toyota until the name of its successor, the [[Toyota TF102|TF102]] was announced.

This was the first Formula One car to run on [[Esso]] fuel since the 1960s.

== Development ==
The car was designed and built from the ground up by the staff at [[Toyota Team Europe|Toyota Motorsports GmbH]] (TMG) in [[Cologne]], Germany over a period of nineteen months, in preparation for Toyota's entry to Formula One in 2002. After the initial unveiling of the car, the test team, including drivers Mika Salo and Allan McNish took on an intensive testing programme, accumulating a total of 3,000 laps and 22,967&nbsp;km at eleven F1 circuits around the world, and also the specialist testing facility at [[Circuit Paul Ricard|Paul Ricard]] in Southern France.

During the development of the car, the initial designer [[André de Cortanze]] was replaced by Austrian [[Gustav Brunner]] and he oversaw the continued development of the car, eventually molding the [[Toyota TF102|TF102]] car, the team's debut racegoing machine based on the work done during the 2001 season.

The car was handling poorly and being overweight, Mika Salo described it as being "a piece of shit".<ref>{{YouTube |ApHRUEB5KZI |Mika Salo Interview Beyond The Grid at 18:12}}</ref>
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== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Toyota TF101}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061122051352/http://www.toyota-f1.com/public/en/motorsports/evolution/tf101.html TF101 Evolution at Toyota F1 official site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071008005959/http://www.f1db.com/f1/page/Toyota_TF101 TF101 Facts at f1db.com]

{{Toyota F1}}

[[Category:Toyota Formula One cars]]
[[Category:Formula One cars that never raced]]