Lexus LFA successor breaks cover as GR GT
First glimpse of production-ready supercar ahead of full reveal next week
It would be reasonable to suggest that expectations are pretty much sky high for what Toyota is going to unveil in Japan next week. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that we're starved of exciting new cars - but mostly it's because this will be Gazoo Racing’s standalone supercar, almost certainly with V8 power. Don’t forget that’s the same Gazoo Racing that’s responsible for the return of the homologation hot hatch, one of the greatest affordable driver’s cars of this century, and a pretty damn good Supra return. In very little time, too. Their expertise on a clean-slate flagship could be awesome. It should be awesome, really.
To remind us of what’s coming (and where the new car has come from), a new teaser video, apparently gleaned from Japanese TV, has emerged ahead of the 5th December reveal. As on the microsite, it features the 2000GT and LFA Nurburgring, though now there’s some sound as well; after the howling straight six and heaven-sent V10, whatever’s in the new car is a little more muted. But it does sound, as we were hoping for, like a V8. And that’s encouraging. ‘The Soul Lives On’ says the video caption, so expect rather more than average eight-cylinder performance from this GR - the reputation of the old engines deserves nothing less.
One thing this car won’t want for is presence, or so it would seem from the short vid. Although a bit larger than the LFA to which it’s inevitably going to be compared as a spiritual successor, the GR remains low, wide and sleek, unlike anything we’ve seen from Japan for a very long time. The V8 Lexus two-door models were certainly never this exotic. Remember Toyota said a new road car would be influenced by the stunning GR GT3 concept and, if a little less extreme, they appear to have stuck to their word. But it’s most definitely front-engined, and there’s a pretty big expanse of glass out back, so the golf clubs might still be able to go in…
But that’s assuming this is a Lexus, and everything thus far is suggesting it will be a Toyota product - despite Lexus’s position as the premium brand. In fact, the ‘GR GT’ trademark was registered a year ago, including a funky badge, the suggestion now being that this won’t carry any Toyota or Lexus branding whatsoever and exist solely as a Gazoo Racing product. Think of how Mercedes-AMG was let loose to build the SLS all those years ago, its own ground-up supercar without outside interference - this GR looks like being a similar sort of thing, albeit going one step further and ditching the parent company insignia altogether. Which would make it less of a halo product when it comes to selling C-HRs. We’ll know for certain, at last, by this time next week.
Gone are the days when they’d churn out white goods with as much appeal as your fridge freezer, and in come the days of bonkers performance cars. There’s the new MR2 and Celica on the horizon, too, with the new 4-pot they’ve developed. Can’t wait for those too, if it follows the GR Yaris in terms of dynamics, they won’t be able to make them quick enough!
And indeed how many and what availability?
Toyota on a right roll at the minute.
How come they can do it and others can t?
Toyota on a right roll at the minute.
How come they can do it and others can t?
Akio is a HUGE petrol head and even has his own race team, hence the GR moniker. Proper dude!
Toyota on a right roll at the minute.
How come they can do it and others can t?
Akio is a HUGE petrol head and even has his own race team, hence the GR moniker. Proper dude!
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