Toyota Australia has made its intentions clear when it comes to the brand’s new Porsche-rivaling supercar – bring it down under.
Speaking to Australian media as the brand made its debut in Supercars last weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, Toyota Australia chief, John Pappas said the local operation is keen to have the recently-revealed GR GT supercar but he stressed no formal decision has been made yet.
“That is super exciting that vehicle,” Pappas said. “Look, I’d love to see that car come to Australia. That is going to be unbelievably great for the brand, that GR. Nothing to announce today, but yeah, we’ll definitely look at that if it can become available for Australia.”
The GR GT is the all-new, purpose-built supercar from the brand, which carries neither a Toyota or Lexus badge and instead will act as the halo model for the entire GR (aka Gazoo Racing) performance division.
It has been designed to be the company’s new GT3 entrant and both the road and race versions have been developed simultaneously. This is to give GR the best chance of competing against the likes of the Porsche 911, Mercedes-AMG GT and Ferrari 296 GTB on both the racetrack and the showroom.
The GR GT is powered by an all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that also features a small electric motor mounted in the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The road car powertrain makes 478kW of power and 850Nm of torque, putting it well above the 324kW/571Nm managed by the GR Supra Final Edition.
The GR GT is also much bigger than the soon-to-be-out-of-production GR Supra, measuring 4820mm long, 2000mm wide and 1195mm tall, which is 440mm longer overall and 255mm longer in the wheelbase, 150mm wider and 100mm lower than the GR Supra Track Edition.
The good news for Australia’s chances is that Toyota management has indicated that the GR GT won’t be built in limited numbers like its predecessor, the Lexus LFA; of which only 500 examples were built.
However, even if the GR GT makes it to Australian showrooms, Pappas ruled it out as a potential replacement for the GR Supra in Supercars anytime before 2030.
“The GR Supra and that’s the vehicle for us for the next five years, and we’re very excited about what we’ve got in front of us,” he said.
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