Friday 15th December 2017

Toyota teases GR Super Sport Concept

The LMP1-inspired show car will be centre stage at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon; heralding Gazoo Racing as a major fast road car force

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If you're not a follower of motorsport, the significance of Toyota's Gazoo Racing team might have passed you by. At face value, the department is effectively an amalgamation of Toyota's extensive efforts to go motor racing; incorporating both World Endurance and Rally campaigns. But beyond that it has become the focal point for the manufacturer's burgeoning fast road car programme, particularly with regard to the tuning potential of its current lineup in Japan.

Its ambitions, though, are far more expansive; characterised by the extreme nature of the concept it will show in Tokyo next month. Previewed by an inevitable teaser shot, the car is obviously closely related to Gazoo's LMP1 racing car, and is intended to make plain the technological link between the firm's motorsport activities and the various options it makes available to the buying public. Of course, no-one's suggesting that Toyota is about to start knocking out cars with glass cockpits and body-length fins, but the concept's conspicuous relationship with the WEC says much about the way Gazoo Racing wants to be regarded.

The image build-up is all the more understandable when you consider that the long-heralded new Supra will almost certainly launch under a Gazoo banner next year. There have already been hints that the halo model will benefit from hybrid powertrain lessons learnt on the race track, even if it is also made available as a conventionally powered sports car. While we don't expect to see the Supra in Tokyo next month, PH is due to encounter Gazoo's first UK-bound production car: the heavily fettled Yaris GRMN.

There could hardly be more breathing room between an LMP1-inspired concept and a supercharged supermini - although if that signifies the breadth of Toyota's objectives for Gazoo, we're likely to be talking about it a lot more next year.

[moffspeed]

Meanwhile rival manufacturers Nissan and Aston Martin have announced that they will be unveiling similar concept cars based on their LMP-1 contenders at the Tokyo show.

Based on the Nissan GT-R LM Nismo and the Aston AMR-One models company spokesmen for both companies stated that these cars were designed for the discerning owner who valued rarity rather than outright speed. Both cars would be available in limited numbers whilst warranty would be limited to 200 miles and free roadside assistance would be part of the bespoke package.