All posts in “gazoo racing”

Toyota Boss Says the Company Will Add More Sports Cars

Toyota Wants More Than the Supra

As pumped up as everyone was for the new Supra, it seems there could be more to come in terms of performance cars from Toyota. According to Autocar, Toyota’s boss Akio Toyoda said that he would like to see more performance cars in the future. 

“SUVs are nice but, at the end of the day, is there anything better than a tight rear-wheel-drive sports car? I hope this won’t be the last Toyota sports car you see from us in the future,” he told the publication. That’s not a confirmation for any particular model, but it would seem that he wants to see more sports cars. If anyone can make that happen, it’s him. 

2020 Toyota Supra2020 Toyota Supra
Image from Toyota

Since the Supra made its official debut, there have been rumors of the company reviving the Celica and the MR2. In an interview with Road and Track, Masayuki Kai the Supra’s assistant chief engineer said that he wants to see the Celica and MR2 back in production. That car would likely come through a partnership between Toyota and Subaru, according to Motor1. 

Despite this possible move by the automaker, Motor1 thinks it more likely that Toyota would start with Gazoo Racing variants of its existing lineup. Cars like the Yaris, Corolla, and 86 could receive serious upgrades. This would be a cost-effective way of expanding the lineup.

However, those cars likely wouldn’t be monsters on the road, just more engaging models. The real test will be if Toyota brings back the Celica or MR2. With Toyota’s new TNGA platform, it may be relatively easy for the company to turn out some true performance models, so new sports cars could come sooner than you think. 

January 29, 2019 / Comments Off on Toyota Boss Says the Company Will Add More Sports Cars
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Toyota GR Super Sport Concept is the TS050’s prettier, friendlier cousin

Following a teaser last month, Toyota has finally revealed its mysterious sports car concept, and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s called the GR Super Sport Concept, the GR standing for Toyota’s racing division Gazoo Racing, and not only does it look like a prototype endurance race car, it pretty much is one.

Under the curvy bodywork is a chassis and powertrain that Toyota says “is composed of mostly the same main parts” as the company’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) hybrid-power TS050 race car. That would also be the same race car that came painfully close to winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans two years ago. You can certainly see the race car background in the car’s carbon fiber chassis. It also has race-ready 13-inch-wide slick tires at all four corners. But the highlight is the twin-turbocharged hybrid V6 that makes 986 horsepower.

Of course the chassis is only half the story. The other is that scintillating shell around it. It’s very clearly inspired by prototype race cars with the tall, wide fenders over the wheels, the large rear wing, narrow cabin and copious vents. It’s definitely sleeker, though. It doesn’t have the bulbous headlights of prototype racers. In fact, we’re not entirely sure it has headlights, but if it does, they’re probably in those hexagons on the front fender, which would match the taillights at the back. The rear wing has also been dropped down for a sleeker profile. It also appears that the cockpit sits higher than the race cars. This may have partly been a styling decision, but also possibly to improve visibility and make it easier to drive.

Making an easy-to-drive TS050 actually is the goal of Gazoo Racing. During the press conference for the car’s unveiling, Gazoo Racing’s president, Shigeki Tomoyama, said that they’re continuing to test the GR Super Sport Concept’s chassis and tweaking it “with the aim of developing a sports car that will more directly convey the TS050’s appeal, while offering easier handling.” This also makes it sound as though Toyota and Gazoo Racing are interested in building a real, production sports car of some sort, perhaps an evolution of this concept. Further evidence to this is Tomoyama saying, “Although it will be some time before you all have the opportunity to get behind the wheel, I hope that the GR Super Sport Concept will give you a taste of what we aim to achieve with our next-generation sports cars.”

But if Toyota is going to build some sort of TS050-based super car, it could be awhile before it’s produced. Remember, it took a number of years for the LFA to finally hit production. But we think we can wait, since the GR Super Sport looks awesome, and the LFA was excellent.

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January 12, 2018 / Comments Off on Toyota GR Super Sport Concept is the TS050’s prettier, friendlier cousin
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