Lexus’ new race-bred sport car

Japanese luxury brand set to replace both RC and LC coupes with a new GT3-based machine.

A Lexus badge appeared on the GR GT3 Concept back in 2022

Toyota has made no secret of its plans to revive its GT3 racing fortunes with an all-new sports car previewed with the GR GT3 Concept. The company publicly revealed its intention to go racing with a homologation special, a new sports car designed with both racing and competing on the road in mind.

Now it appears after two years of uncertainty that Lexus is the firm favourite to put its badge on the nose of the GR GT3 machine. A report from Japan’s Best Car Web, claims that the production version of the GT3 entry will be the luxury brand’s new singular sports car focus, effectively replacing both the RC and bigger LC coupes.

While Toyota has been quiet until now about what engine it plans to use in the GR GT3, this latest report claims it will either feature a 3.5-litre V6 with hybrid assistance or possibly use the newer 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 engine developed for the US Tundra and Tacoma pickups.

Whether this carries over to the racing version is unclear, with GT3 regulations allowing manufacturers to alter what engines they race with compared to the road version, but using a hybrid system on the track is out of the question. That leaves the most likely racing options as a newly-developed V6 or continuing with the V8 already used in the RC F GT3 entry.

The GR GT3 Concept previews the brand’s new racing car

This isn’t the first time the GR GT3 Concept has been linked to Lexus. Only months after it was unveiled in Tokyo in early 2022, it was spotted at a Lexus US dealer event wearing the ‘L’ badge on its nose.

Putting it under the Lexus brand makes sense both from a road and track perspective too, with Toyota already engaged in the top-flight Hypercar class so it makes sense to leave Lexus to race against the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren and more in the booming GT3 category.

As for the showroom implications, Toyota already has the GR Supra and GR 86, so adding a third front-engine sports car, and one at a premium price, doesn’t make a lot of sense.

But whatever badge it wears, expect this Japanese machine to hit both the road and the racetrack by 2025.