Toyota finally dropped its big one in the UK. It is a V8 monster. It hits the road next year as a serious challenger to the Mercedes-AMG GT or that Aston Martin thing they keep trying to sell you.
They call it the GR GT. Short for Gazoo Racing.
Think of it as a legal race car. That is exactly what they say it is. In fact. They unveiled the street version and the GT3 spec racer at the exact same moment. They were built together. Not one then the other. Simultaneously. Parallel engineering.
You saw it move last week. At Goodwood. Fest of Speed vibes. Loud noises. Lots of dust. Autocar got there earlier though. Peeked behind the curtain. Let’s see what makes this beast tick. And listen to it start up. Just wait for that noise. It hurts good.
“We wanted high dynamic performance. But also a feeling like you and the car are one entity.”
That’s the pitch. Akio Toyoda — yes. That Akio. Chairman and Master Driver — sat in on every detail. He dragged Japan’s top racers into the process too. No suits making decisions in Tokyo this time. Actual drivers.
There’s a whole other supercar project happening alongside this one. A pure-electric Lexus LFA homage. Together they form a “trinity.” A bit religious? Maybe. But it screams engineering pride. They want to show off what they learned on track.
And they’re training new guys. Old engineers from the first LFA days are teaching the newcomers the secret sauce. Keep the fire alive. Pass the torch. Or whatever you call handing off legacy code to fresh hires.
Now look at the guts. Japan’s answer to the AMG GT. Or maybe the Turbo 911? Hard to say until you drive it. It uses a fresh 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. It is hybrid. Don’t panic yet.
It sends 641 horsepower. Plus 627 lb ft of torque. Straight to the back wheels via a carbon fiber reinforced tube. Solid. They promise numbers might get better before launch. Promises. Promises.
Top speed? At least 198 mph. That is fast. 0 to 62 should take roughly 3.5 seconds. If the math holds up.
But look closer. The engine is tiny. Compact. They shoved the turbos right into the “V” of the cylinders. A hot vee layout. Adds heat complexity? Sure. Saves space? Absolutely. Dry sump system helps keep things tight. Slim oil pan. Every inch matters when you are trying to make a supercar that isn’t just a Ferrari clone with bad paint.
It sounds mean. It looks sharp. Now we just wait to see if it handles like Akio’s dreams.
Who knows.
