Toyota Gazoo Racing is keeping the JDM spirit alive, unveiling its newest halo car. Well technically two cars if you include the GT GT3 version for those who want to do some real racing. Toyota on the otherhand has given every JDM enthusiast a new hero to worship.
TGR GT
The GR follows in the footsteps of previous halo cars 2000GT and the Lexus LFA sharing a long swooping hood of the LFA in particular. (The LFA nameplate itself having something of a reinvention). The GT loses 0.8L and 2 cylinders, instead, powered by a twin turbocharged 4.0L V8. The internal combustion engine is paired to a transaxle hybrid system bring total output to 650HP and 850Nm.
This is a vehicle to designed and built to truly be a race care for the road. An often touted cliche when it comes to sports cars but performance was at the forefront of the design philosophy. Three key areas were the focus of this build: a low centre of gravity, low weight with high rigidity and the pursuit of aerodynamic performance. Aluminium chassis, carbon fibre and a whole host of other technologies to give this vehicle as much strength and lightness as possible are all present and accounted for.
TGR GT3
To this end, Toyota also unveiled the GR GT3. The true race car variant of the GR GT. The race version is built to compete in the FIA GT3 spec races. I can imagine a gentleman racer taking on a few stints at the Nordschleife N24 and then hoping into their road spec GR GT and head to the Alps.
Sports cars tend to be the last thing on manufacturers’ minds. Usually high cost but very low volumes. But these are the vehicles that ignite the passion for cars in young enthusiasts. The car that brand loyalists aspire to own some day. I for one am glad that Toyota is a company, from the highest offices, filled with motoring enthusiasts.
Lexus LFA Concept
The LFA concept shares the same aluminium body frame as the GR GT, giving it the same driver-focused and immersive driving experience as the V8 powered halo car. This LFA successor however, is a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). Starting with the agile base of the GT, the electrified powertrain is packaged as optimally as possible to maintain a performance-focused platform that still has a beautifully sculpted body expected of the LFA nameplate. The Lexus LFA Concept embodies “Toyota’s Shikinen Sengu” for preserving and passing down techniques and skills from car-making veterans, and in my opinion serves as a great bridge for connecting the internal combustioned halo cars of the past to the electrified ones of the future.
If you’d like to watch a replay of the GR & GR GT3 launch, check it out below.
