The GR GT sits on an all aluminium body frame clothed in carbon fibre panels, keeping weight in check while giving it the low, long stance you expect from a serious front engine coupe. Under that stretched bonnet lives a newly developed 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 working with a single electric motor, sending a combined output of around 641 bhp to the rear wheels through a new eight speed automatic gearbox and a mechanical limited slip differential. The hybrid motor is integrated into the transaxle, filling in torque during gearchanges and sharpening response rather than chasing economy, which tells you exactly what this car is built to do. Top speed is quoted at over 199 mph, with 0 to 62 mph expected comfortably under four seconds.
Toyota has gone to unusual lengths to make the GR GT a proper drivers car rather than just a numbers car. The engine is pushed as far back as possible in the chassis, helping deliver a 45 to 55 front to rear weight balance. The structure focuses on a low centre of gravity and high rigidity, with double wishbone suspension and carbon ceramic brakes at each corner. Sticky Michelin Cup style tyres wrap lightweight wheels, and the aero has clearly been tuned with track work in mind rather than just showroom drama. Inside, the cabin mixes modern screens with an old school, driver centric layout, more in line with Toyota’s 2000GT and Lexus LFA heritage than a mass market Corolla or RAV4.
Alongside the road car sits the GR GT3, Toyota’s purpose built customer racer that shares the basic layout and V8 heart but trades comfort and hybrid assistance for full competition focus. That car will form the basis of Toyota’s future involvement in GT racing around the world, taking the lessons learned from Gazoo Racing’s World Rally and Le Mans programmes and pouring them into a front engine GT car for the first time in years. It is also a strategic move, giving Toyota a hero car to sit above GR Yaris and GR Corolla and to act as a halo for the rest of its performance range.
For decades Toyota has made its money building unkillable Corolla taxis and bulletproof hybrids, yet its back catalogue is full of enthusiast legends like the 2000GT, Supra, AE86 and MR2. The GR GT and GR GT3 are the latest evidence that the company is not content to leave excitement to other brands. In a market drifting toward silent crossovers and software updates, a snarling hybrid V8 coupe with a Toyota badge feels like both a risk and a statement.
This is Toyota reminding the world it can still do wild.
