The wide umbrella of Toyota brands is expanding to include Gazoo Racing, with the hot performance division now seen by the car giant as its own entity.
Joining Lexus, Daihatsu and the newly launched Century spin-off, Gazoo Racing (better known as GR) has dropped the Toyota moniker in what’s believed to be an attempt to distance itself from the serious image of its parent.
Launched 11 years ago, the GR department has since been responsible for Toyota’s hot road cars such as the GR Supra, GR Corolla and GR Yaris, as well as being its flagship brand for the WRC and WEC campaigns.
From 2027 however, Gazoo Racing will have more of a standalone feel, starting with the new GR GT which features no Toyota branding, a move which is expected to be reflected on more upcoming products.
One of those is understood to be revealed tomorrow, with Toyota teasing the reveal of the new long-awaited MR2, taking place at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
The revival of the MR2 has long been rumoured but was all but confirmed when Toyota rolled out the GR Yaris M Concept last year, powered by a mid-mounted, all-new turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine.
In recent weeks Gazoo Racing president Tomoya Takahashi had also spoken about old MR2s in the brand’s in-house magazine, Toyota Times, detailing its handling traits as a reason why the Yaris M Concept is all-wheel drive.
According to Toyota, the new 2.0-litre will be more powerful than the 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine in a number of its vehicles – such as the Tacoma and Australian market Kluger until last year – but it’ll be about 10 per cent shorter, making it “suitable for a wide range of vehicles that require high output, from sports cars to trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles”.
It’s expected the engine will also be used across a wider range of future models, including a potential next-generation GR Corolla.
While reports have suggested the GR MR2 is closer than ever following trademark filings (including some for MR-S), the brand moved to temper expectations in its Toyota Times article, saying “given the many issues that remain, no release date has been set”.
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