Toyota’s new GR GT is a flagship for its Gazoo Racing performance arm, and the effective spiritual successor to the V10-powered Lexus LFA.
While the LFA was born out of a drawn-out development process, resulting in high prices at launch, the GR GT is coming to market relatively soon, with a 2027 launch on the cards.
The Japanese car giant hasn’t announced a price, but it’s expected to fall around similar competitors such as the Mercedes-AMG GT and Porsche 911 GT3 at circa-US$225,000 (A$339,000), rather than the eye-watering sums commanded by the LFA (US$375,000 when new in 2010).
Those sky-high LFA prices were due in part to its relative rarity, with only 436 examples of the standard car built, with the 500-vehicle production run culminating with 64 Nürburgring Editions.
For Toyota, it appears to be aware of the problems this caused, placing its flagship into a segment many potential customers couldn’t afford.
Speaking to US outlet The Drive, GR GT project manager Takashi Doi said it won’t limit production numbers for the new hero model, reflecting the desires of company chairman Akio Toyoda.
According to Doi, the LFA was “out of reach of so many” customers, and Toyota now wants more fans of the brand to be able to access its racing car for the road.
Technology shared between the GR GT road car and the GR GT3 race car includes an all-new aluminium chassis (a first for Toyota), a transaxle transmission (another Toyota first), and a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine.
In the GR GT, the transaxle incorporates an electric motor, making it a hybrid like so many of the brand’s best-selling cars. Total outputs are 478kW and 850Nm, becoming Toyota’s most powerful production car in the process.
Toyota is yet to announce where the GR GT will be built and if it’ll come to Australia.
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