- The road car equivalent of the Toyota GR GT3 race car has been located
- New sports car could be marketed as Lexus
- Power is expected to come from the newly developed V-8
Toyota is developing a new GT3 race car that will form the basis of a next-generation sports car built for the road, and a prototype of that road-going model has been seen for the first time.
The racing car was predicted by a concept at the 2022 Tokyo Motor Show and was seen in the past testing hard on some of the world’s top tracks, such as the Belgian Spa-Francorchamps.
Some competitions where the race car could end up include the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The race car is expected to make its competitive debut in 2026, and the road car is expected to launch around the same time, making the arrival of the 2027 model year likely.
Toyota executives suggested that a road version of the race car was coming. The GT3 class requires race cars to be derived from street cars, so it was inevitable that Toyota’s new race car, which isn’t based on any current road car, would end up spawning a model you could drive on the street.
Toyota GR GT3 concept
What’s unclear is whether the car will be marketed as a Toyota or Lexus, although most rumors point to the latter as it will allow the race car to replace the aging Lexus RC F GT3 on the track. Lexus also showed a electric supercar concept with similar proportions to the race car, perhaps pointing to some shared development.
Development is still at a relatively early stage, and the final design could evolve on the way to production, as the prototype design is still very close to the race car. It still has polycarbonate on the windows, for example.
There are some clear differences, however. The road car has a smaller rear wing compared to the race car and also uses conventional rear-mounted exhausts instead of the race car’s side exhaust. The front and rear panels are also unique, and on the road car the front splitter is much smaller. The road car also has street tires, in this case a set of Michelins.
Lexus Electrified Sport – Photo: Noriaki Mitsuhashi/N-Rak Photo Agency
Toyota hasn’t provided details about the race car, but it’s expected that under the hood will be a V-8 engine. The road car will probably also use the V-8, perhaps with even more power, since it has no performance balance rules to adhere to. There are even some rumors that the road car could adopt hybrid technology.
A possible name for the car is GR GT, a name Toyota has a registered trademark. The “GR” here stands for Gazoo Racing, the official motorsport department of Toyota and Lexus. The race car is expected to be called the GR GT3.
Stay tuned for updates as development continues.