Toyota has taken the wraps off an exciting new sports car, the GR GT, and while it's touted to be a "road-legal race car” in the format it will be sold to the public in, there's also an actual race version from the off, the GR GT3. Note: these are not concept cars.
I'm speechless...
And well you might be. Toyota is no stranger to sporty cars, and it has been making more use of the Gazoo Racing (GR) branding of late, but few people could have predicted the introduction of the GR GT at this stage.
Perhaps this week's confirmation that Toyota Gazoo Racing would become title sponsors of the Haas F1 team from next year should have given us a clue.
Anyway, the GR GT is a stunning two-door coupe, but Toyota tells us that, before the stylists were let loose, aerodynamics engineers that worked on the company's World Endurance Championship (WEC) racers helped define the packaging of the car to get the best aerodynamic and cooling performance.
Saying that, we believe the front-engine, rear-drive layout was determined even before that, with most of the mass of the engine behind the front axle for better weight distribution. Tantalisingly, this arrangement is cited as being "for ease of handling when driving the vehicle to its limit.”
Anyway, the end result in terms of how the GR GT looks is a low front end covered in air inlets, a long, sculpted bonnet, large air outlets behind the front wheels, a cabin set right back in the middle of the car and an aggressively styled rear with an obvious aerodynamic diffusor and four beefy exhaust outlets.
Hang on, is the Toyota GR GT not electric?
Surprisingly not, though it is a hybrid, and a very special one at that. We don't have all the tech specs yet, but we do know that the GR GT gets a newly developed V8 petrol engine.
It's a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre unit with the turbos in the vee and a dry sump underneath. That, and a notably short stroke, were chosen to reduce the height of the engine and hence lower the car's centre of gravity.
Power is taken to the rear axle via a carbon-fibre-reinforced-plastic (CFRP) torque tube for enhanced structural rigidity. The gearbox is part of a sophisticated transaxle design which also includes the electric motor-generator, a new eight-speed automatic transmission, a limited-slip differential and a 'wet-start' clutch in place of a torque converter.
The latter is used to enhance the directness of the drive and Toyota promises that it'll be quick and engaging. The electric motor, incidentally, will be used to fill in any torque gaps in the engine's delivery.
Toyota isn't finished with the development of that V8 engine as yet, but targets for it include at least 650hp and 850Nm of torque, while the weight of the GR GT will be under 1,750kg, split 45:55 front to rear.
How will it be so light?
That's thanks in part to Toyota's first ever all-aluminium body frame using large castings and what Toyota calls "advanced joining technologies”. The body panels themselves are aluminium or CFRP.
Forged aluminium is used in the double-wishbone suspension, while carbon-ceramic brakes by Brembo are also included. Lightweight 20-inch alloys top off the chassis package, and Toyota tells us that Vehicle Stability Control system allows the driver to choose their favoured "vehicle control difficulty level” depending on weather conditions and their skill level.
That would explain the instruments...
Ah, you've been browsing the gallery, have you? There, if you look closely at the dashboard, you'll spot the word "Expert” to the left of the gear indicator, with what appears to be another level above that - presumably "Professional” or "Gazoo” or similar.
Those digital instruments reveal a few other titbits of information, such as a "Track” setting, and the engine revving at 6,941rpm with one more "change up” light left to go in fifth gear at 140mph (225km/h)... Toyota did say it'll exceed 320km/h.
The cabin itself is a two-seat affair with a flat-bottomed steering wheel and a central touchscreen. We're glad to spot plenty of physical switchgear though. A black-and-red colour scheme is shown, with red stitching and a red 12 o'clock marker on the GT-branded wheel.
Presumably the GT3's cabin will be a bit different?
Presumably so, though we don't have shots of it as yet. It certainly looks race-ready on the outside, and we're told it has been designed from the outset to use as many parts from the showroom model as possible.
It shares its 2,725mm wheelbase with the GR GT, for example (the Porsche 911's is about 2,450mm, for reference), but it's more than 100mm lower at barely over a metre tall.
Sold, when can I buy one?
Not before 2027. Start saving.
Hang on, what's that third car in the pictures?
Oh, that was supposed to be in a separate news story... Well, as we're here... That's the Lexus LFA Concept, previewing a successor to the legendary, V10-engined LFA sports car, using the Toyota GR GT's underpinnings.
It won't use a V10 this time around, or even the Toyota V8 hybrid system, as the new Lexus LFA will be all-electric. We don't know a lot more about it other than Lexus intends it to be a very special driver's car indeed.
You'll likely have a bit longer to save for that one if it's any consolation.