Para Tech | TOYOTA Toyota Motor Europe

INTRODUCING

Andrea Eskau

Andrea Eskau is the winner of four golds and a silver medal as a Paralympian handcyclist. She's also got four golds, four silvers and two bronzes for the Paralympic Winter Games. Now she's partnering with Toyota to sharpen her edge even more.

Para Tech Power

Engineer Roger Kirschner was born with the left half of his body paralyzed. His parents were both professional race drivers, and he wanted to keep up with their fast-paced lifestyle. Andrea Eskau suffered spinal injuries after she had a bicycle accident. She didn’t want to slow down either, and instead decided to race at the Paralympic Games.

Even after winning four gold medals in the summer and another four golds in the winter at the Paralympic Games, her determination to go faster didn't stop. Roger and Andrea worked together with a team of Toyota engineers to continue improving her handbike. Today, her new handbike is 30 percent lighter and optimized for her to perform at her best.

I took a look at the existing handbike and sensed it right away. It needs a new concept… more stiffness, but less weight. It’s exciting that I am speaking to the racer and the race car in one person, because she’s the engine herself.

Roger Kirschner

Engineer

Mobility Technology

Toyota engineering team took the technology used by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and applied it to help create a handbike for Andrea that is lighter and stiffer than any she’s ridden in the past.

Mobility Vision

Toyota believes in equality of access through mobility. Elevating athletes like Andrea is just one example of how Toyota is helping people of all abilities to reach their full potential.

Dedicated to Athletes

Toyota and Andrea have worked together on a variety of projects over the last seven years, including her custom ski sledge. We are committed to giving our athletes the tools they need to feel the power of movement.

Olympic & Paralympic Games

As the Worldwide Official Mobility Partner of the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, Toyota is committed to unleashing human potential through the power of movement and helping Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls reach their goals by increasing access, raising visibility and improving technology. Through the partnerships, Toyota seeks to encourage people around the world to take the first steps toward achieving their dreams, regardless of gender, age, nationality or impairment, because at Toyota we believe when you are free to move, anything is possible.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

Toyota’s participation in motorsports has a special mission: to fine-tune not only our cars but the abilities of the people who make them. This has been Toyota’s manufacturing philosophy since the time of our founder, Kiichiro Toyoda. The extreme conditions of motorsports reveal the full potential of vehicles. Potential that we don't see in day-to-day driving. Motorsports allow us to test the ultimate limits of a vehicle—and to push those limits even further so that we can make ever-better vehicles.