Some automakers build practical cars with an emphasis on reliability, and build millions of them every year. Others build extreme supercars for race tracks, and build far fewer. The world’s largest automaker wants to do both.
You may know Toyota as the home of the RAV4, the Camry, and probably several multi-story warehouses of awards for reliability and resale value.
But it will soon also be the home of the Toyota GR GT, a screaming supercar with a twin-turbo V8 under the hood and enough vents and aerodynamic enhancements to make the Ford Mustang GTD feel insecure.
Toyota hasn’t said what it will cost, or when it will go on sale. But the GR GT will likely be the heart of a new high-performance sub-brand called GR that may get a separate space in some Toyota dealerships. It gets its name from Toyota’s Gazoo Racing motorsports team, and will sell this car as well as GR variants of Toyota cars like the extraordinary GR Corolla.
The GR GT will also appear on your TV. Toyota revealed a dedicated racing version, the GT3, alongside the road car.
All-New Twin-Turbo V8
- Under its hood sits a newly developed engine, a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, mated to an electric motor
- With rear-wheel drive and a limited-slip differential, it should be as agile as it is powerful
The GR GT introduces many all-new components for Toyota. It rides on the company’s first all-aluminum body frame. A newly developed 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 powers it, working with an electric motor to provide instant torque.
Toyota didn’t release final power figures for the engine, but says engineers targeted 641 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque. The top speed is reportedly close to 200 mph.
With rear-wheel drive and a mechanical limited-slip differential, it shares a layout common to some of the world’s best-handling performance cars.
Its styling “gives paramount priority to aerodynamics,” Toyota says. Engineers worked to perfect the aerodynamics and then figure out what the body looks like, flipping the usual approach to car design.
Toyota revealed little about the interior — this isn’t a car anyone buys for its touchscreens — but said designers worked to achieve the lowest possible driving position. Photos show a shocking red cabin, Recaro racing seats, and a central touchscreen above a set of toggle switches large enough to operate with driving gloves on.
We expect to learn more as the launch of the GR brand gets closer. Toyota says it hopes to kick off the marque “around 2027.”
