A snorkel, or air intake pipe, directs air into the engine. At the same time, it prevents water and sand dust from entering the engine.
Toyota’s Rally1 car tried out a snorkel for the first time during the pre-Safari rally tests in Portugal. The pipe was further developed after the test, as an innovative solution was seen on the GR Yaris during the Safari Rally’s shakedown.
The air intake of Toyota’s car spans the width of the roof, and aerodynamics have also been precisely considered in the design. For example, the snorkel seen on M-Sport’s Ford Puma had a more traditional appearance.
Toyota spent time developing the snorkel so that it would work more efficiently and not overly affect the car’s aerodynamic solutions. Kalle Rovanperä kept tight-lipped when asked about the snorkel’s performance improvement after the pre-tests.
“I cannot open those things too much. It’s not my thing to say what we have learned and done,” Rovanperä said.
“But they look nice now. The cars look like proper Safari cars,” Rovanperä grinned afterwards.
Toyota was not satisfied with a mere standard solution for its snorkel.
“Our guys have used time on it to really think how it’s made and what it does, so let’s hope it works as well as it looks,” Rovanperä remarked.
Hyundai has still been hiding its own snorkel solution, as the cars were not equipped with air intake pipes during the shakedown stage nor at Thursday’s super special stage.
