The 29-year-old joins Mike Conway and Stephane Sarrazin in one of the Japanese manufacturer's all-new TS050 HYBRID machines, following Wurz's retirement from racing.

Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima will remain together in the sister car.

After losing his Caterham Formula 1 seat in 2014, Kobayashi spent last season as Toyota WEC reserve alongside racing in the Japan-based Super Formula series, where he placed fifth overall.

He was also on standby to replace the injured Nakajima for the Le Mans 24 Hours, although Nakajima subsequently was fit to race.

Kobayashi is no stranger to the WEC, having contested a full season for the Ferrari AF Corse GT squad in 2013 following a three-year stint at the Sauber F1 team that yielded a podium finish at Suzuka in 2012.