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Toyota GR GT & GR GT3
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has presented two new models that carry the line from the 2000GT and Lexus LFA into the next generation: the GR GT and the GR GT3. Both share the same core philosophy: an extremely low centre of gravity, as light and stiff as possible, and aerodynamics that were drawn up first and only made “pretty” afterwards.
The GR GT is the road-legal race car. The GR GT3 is the full GT3 racer for customers who want to go to Spa, the Nürburgring or Le Mans with just one goal: to win.
GR GT: a road-legal race car with a V8 twin-turbo hybrid
Toyota positions the GR GT as GR’s new flagship, a car that comes straight from racing but can simply carry number plates. Under the long nose sits a newly developed 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo paired with a hybrid system with a single electric motor in the rear transaxle. Target figures:
≥ 650 hp system output
≥ 850 Nm of torque
Top speed: more than 320 km/h
Weight: 1,750 kg or less
Weight distribution: 45% front, 55% rear
The engine is designed to be compact (short-stroke, “hot-V” layout with the turbos in the V) and is lubricated with a dry sump to mount the engine as low as possible. The electric motor is integrated into the rear transaxle together with a newly developed eight-speed automatic (with a wet clutch instead of a torque converter) and a mechanical limited-slip differential.
The result: direct response without turbo lag, shift behaviour closer to a race gearbox than a classic automatic, and a drivetrain built to handle both track days and street use.
Packaging: extremely low, extremely driver-focused
The GR GT was developed with one obsession: centre of gravity down, driver down, everything down. The engine sits far back in the nose, the transaxle at the rear, and the battery and fuel tank are placed as low and central as possible. The engineers chose the driver’s position so that the centre of gravity of car and driver are at almost the same height. That sounds nerdy, but on track it means a car that feels natural, does not get nervous at the limit and is perfectly readable.
The architecture is front-engine, rear-wheel drive, but entirely in service of balance: a compact engine, a long wheelbase (2,725 mm) and a layout that comes close to a pure front-midship configuration.
Aluminium spaceframe and carbon: Toyota’s lightest and stiffest base ever
For the first time, Toyota builds a full aluminium spaceframe as the backbone of a production car. Large castings form the main structure, joined to extruded sections and panels through advanced welding and bonding techniques.
On top come panels in aluminium and carbon (CFRP). The combination: low weight, extremely high torsional rigidity, exactly what you want if you need aerodynamics and suspension to work down to the millimetre.
The suspension is double wishbones front and rear, mounted low, with forged aluminium arms. Michelin developed a specific Pilot Sport Cup 2 for the GR GT with:
265/35 ZR20 front
325/30 ZR20 rear
Brakes? Brembo carbon-ceramic discs all round, with the tuning and stability control developed alongside professional racers. The VSC can be reduced in several steps so you choose how much electronics you still want.
Aerodynamics first, design second: a reversed development process
Toyota has completely reversed the classic order. Not “a pretty design first, then aero”, but:
First a purely aerodynamic model: ideal airflow, cooling, downforce.
Only then did the design team translate that shape into production-ready bodywork.
Aerodynamicists from the WEC programme (Le Mans prototypes) were at the heart of the project from day one. The GR GT has to reach more than 320 km/h, so stability, brake and engine cooling and controlled downforce were essential.
The interior is also built for function: a perfect seating position, a view forwards and to the apex, switches you can find blind during a fast lap, and displays designed so that at 250 km/h you see what you need at a glance: revs, gear, shift lights.
GR GT3: for those who want to win Spa, the Nürburgring or Le Mans
Where the GR GT is the road version, the GR GT3 is the pure FIA GT3 race car, based on the same architecture.
The same 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo base
The same focus on a low centre of gravity, rigidity and aerodynamics
Fully developed to FIA GT3 regulations
Aimed at customer teams that want to win, but also easy to drive for gentleman drivers
Toyota Gazoo Racing will not only supply the car, but also build up full customer support: technical support, parts, set-up advice, test support, the whole package you expect in modern GT3 racing.
With the GR GT3, Toyota aims directly at the arena of the 911 GT3 R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and more. So expect the GR GT3 in time in the GT World Challenge Europe, 24H Spa, Nürburgring 24H and other top championships.
Morizo, the LFA legacy and “ever-better cars” in practice
The development of both models was led under the well-known Toyota philosophy of “ever-better cars”, with Akio Toyoda (Morizo) himself in the cockpit. LFA veterans passed their know-how on to a younger generation of engineers.
From concept to finish, the team:
worked with advanced driving simulators as used in racing
tested at Fuji Speedway, the Nürburgring and Shimoyama
deliberately “driven to destruction and rebuilt” to find weak points
Toyota links all of this to the Japanese idea of “Shikinen Sengu”: passing on knowledge and craftsmanship from generation to generation. Where the Lexus LFA was once that role model, the GR GT and GR GT3 now take over that role, with more power, more aero and a hybrid twist towards the future. The market launch is currently targeted at around 2027, with further details to follow later.
This means something for the sports car world
The GR GT and GR GT3 are not marketing exercises. They show where Toyota wants to go with performance: not just reliable mass production, but genuine driver’s cars that come straight from racing, with a V8, with a hybrid, and with the necessary attitude.
At a time when everything “must” be electric, Toyota makes a clear statement here: the ultimate driver’s car can still have a combustion engine, as long as it is clever, efficient and race-proven.
