Toyota GR GT3 revealed

Toyota has again demonstrated the potential of its Gazoo Racing (GR) performance and motorsport division by releasing the Toyota GR GT3 at the Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan – a concept for a bespoke GT3 race car that, if produced, should pave the way for an all-new road-going supercar.

Toyota Gazoo Racing president Koji Sato stated that the new racer was designed to compete in the GT3 category against the likes of Porsche and Ferrari, and that it’s more than just a flight of fancy.

“Our current GR is already built. This is the real model that will be run for the competition race,” said Sato.

Shown alongside a range of other GR-branded vehicles including a stove-hot Toyota GRMN Yaris, the low-slung apex-chasing GT3 is an all-new design from the brand and features the sort of eye-popping aero aids required for high-downforce racing – chiefly the huge rear wing and deep rear diffuser.

It’s not clear what lurks beneath the GR GT3 concept’s long bonnet, but the twin-turbo petrol V8 co-developed with Lexus could be a contender for the front-engine, rear-drive GT3.

Everything about the racer appears to be designed to chase lap times, including the low chin spoiler, front flecks and various vents and apertures designed to aid thermal efficiency.

“It satisfies the regulations and technological requirements, so the development was already launched,” explained Sato.

If the vehicle does indeed meet official GT3 racing regulations and is pressed into competition, it would need to spawn a road-going vehicle given that GT3 cars must be based on mass-production road-legal models that are being built and sold at the time of homologation.

Toyota already races the Supra in the GT4 race category, and the world’s top-selling car-maker is clearly keen to expand its race car offerings to customers via the burgeoning GR brand.

Few official details on the new Toyota GR GT3 racer are available, but the company issued a press release stating: “TGR [Toyota Gazoo Racing] is committed to further accelerating customer motorsports activities to make the world of motorsports sustainable.

“As was the case with the GR Yaris, by commercialising motorsports cars rather than simply adapting production vehicles for use in motorsports, TGR intends to use feedback and technologies refined through participation in various motorsports activities to develop both GT3 and mass-production cars and further promote making ever-better motorsports-bred cars.”

Toyota also used the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon car show to present another concept car, this one based on its upcoming EV, the bZ4X. Dubbed the bZ4X GR Sport Concept, it takes the regular vehicle and injects a big dose of aggression via the fitment of larger wheels and tyres for increased grip, along with sports seats inside.

Delivering “an elevated levels of environmental performance and driving pleasure”, the GR-badged EV does get a few sporty exterior upgrades, including matte-black body work. However, Toyota made no mention of extra power from its electric motors or the fitment of a larger battery.

Like many Toyotas, the standard bZ4X EV could face delivery delays, with its Australian arrival potentially pushing out to early 2023.