Toyota Hits The High Notes At FoS

Japanese car maker shows its class with spectacular Goodwood line-up

By Chris-R / Tuesday, 23 June 2009 / Loading comments

It’s sometimes easy to forget the impact Toyota has made on global motorsport over the years, but not if you’re a regular at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Toyota has turned out in force at the FoS for some years now, and an array of interesting motorsport metal is being wheeled out once again in 2009.

Timo Glock will pilot the TF108

F1 star Timo Glock is topping the bill for Toyota this year, driving the 2008 TF108 grand prix car up the tricky (for an F1 car!) hill course, while Gazoo Racing’s V10-powered LF-A will also be seen in action for the first time in the UK.

Look out also for the spectacular 700bhp Fensport 4WD Celica GT4-X which competes in the Toyota Sprint Series, as well as the 3.0-litere V6-powered, carbon-bodied Auris ice racer that former F1 world champion Alain Prost has driven to back-to-back Andros Trophy championships.

Meanwhile, the festival rally stage will echo to the roar of some of Toyota’s most celebrated and successful machinery, including the Group B Celica Twin-cam Turbo, Celica ST185, Celica GT4 ST205 and Toyota’s ultimate championship machine, the WRC Corolla.

FoS debut for Gazoo Racing LF-A

On its static display, cars like the Can-AM V8 Toyota 7, and the 2

-placed TS010 Le Mans car will join wackier machines like the mid-engined Aygo Crazy ‘concept’.

While we salute Toyota’s commitment to helping make the Festival of Speed such a great event, we admit to being a little bemused by one exhibit the car maker has promised to display. There’s apparently going to be a glass artwork by Japanese artist Sou Fujimoto – inspired by Lexus’s L-finesse design principles and named ‘Crystallised Wind’. Perhaps we’ll pass on that one!

Celica on Safari in 1993	The 700bhp Fensport Celica
Alain's mighty Auris ice racer	The TS010 Le Mans campaigner
The mid-engined Aygo Crazy	Group B Celica TC