Toyota Gazoo Racing has unveiled the GR GT prototype, a road-going flagship being developed alongside the GR GT3 race car. The two machines share a common architecture and were conceived from the start as one programme connecting road-car development with lessons from motorsport.
The GR GT uses a new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 combined with a hybrid system. Toyota has chosen a light, rigid aluminium frame and placed particular emphasis on a low centre of gravity. The GR GT3 uses the same basic V8 without the road car's hybrid system and is being developed to GT3 regulations.
TGR says racing drivers and production-car test drivers have worked together on both projects. The GR GT is intended to deliver circuit performance while remaining usable as a road car. That makes it more than a token homologation derivative created only to justify a racing programme.
The premiere also matters for Toyota's product hierarchy. The company placed the GR GT in a shared development story with the GR GT3 racer and the electric Lexus LFA Concept. The broader programme is intended to transfer engineering knowledge between GR and Lexus and between road and competition use.