Toyota really wants everyone to go karting

New entry-level 'GR KART' is intended to help families get on track - what a wonderful idea

Toyota isn’t the first car manufacturer to dip a prospective toe into the highly varied world of karting, and with F1 drivers fast turning into A-list celebrities, you’d assume it won’t be the last either. But the firm’s dedication to motorsport in nearly all its forms makes the introduction of the new ‘GR KART’ seem like a very neat squaring of its existing circle. It wants to encourage more people onto racing circuits - what better way than with an entry-level go-kart the whole family can use?

Of course, sliding pedals and a tiltable steering wheel are not revolutionary, though the range of adjustment available to the GR KART seems impressive given it is said to accommodate anyone between 4ft and 6ft. Needless to say, this level of adaptability is not meant for anyone already taking their karting seriously; it is about simplifying the ownership experience and reducing costs rather than blowing the opposition away. Thus you get an 83kg go-kart custom-built to fit into a (brand-specific, obviously) family minivan without requiring disassembly, and it has been constructed with upright storage in mind - think engine oil catch tank, adapted carburettor and a reorientated fuel filler opening.

Moreover, Toyota has adroitly assumed that not everyone wants to break out the spanners: it suggests a new belt-drive system is a better and easier to maintain than an oily chain, and includes an automatic tensioner to remove the requirement for manual tightening. The 215cc engine also gets a built-in, self-charging battery, and the manufacturer reckons it has paid close attention to improving durability when choosing to fit metal fuel lines and a stainless steel rear axle shaft.

Clearly, this is meant to be all part of the attraction of a ‘carmaker-made kart’, one it seems will be built exclusively at the Gamagori GR KART Workshop, guided by the principles of the famed Toyota Production System. And if that isn’t enough to convince people, the very reasonable-sounding £1,850 (385,000 yen) might be. Sadly, for now, the only people it needs to convince are Japanese, as that’s where the GR KART has been introduced. But there is no carmaker larger or more globally orientated than Toyota, or arguably as invested in motorsport. What a splendid follow-up to a UK GR Corolla launch it would make...