RE: Toyota GR Super Sport Concept
Friday 12th January 2018
Alright, so it's not confirmed for production yet. But given the second paragraph of Toyota's press release for the GR Super Sport says Toyota "aims to refine its cars and people toward the goal of making ever-better cars through participation in motorsport activities", you would have to hope this could be the crowning glory of that idea.
Interestingly there's no comment on the styling of the GR Super Sport, so we'll come out and say now that it looks absolutely fantastic. It's lean and minimalist but beautiful too, details like the exhausts, the lights and those gorgeous rear haunches creating something spectacular.
Toyota GR Super Sport Concept
Anything AMG can do we can too, says Toyota - and drops an LMP1 powertrain in a concept...
The arrival of this concept also implies a renewed commitment from Toyota to the World Endurance Championship despite the departure of Audi and Porsche. It's described as "a highly beneficial and necessary project" for Toyota, to help develop its hybrid and EV systems. This car uses "mostly the same parts" as the TS050 Hybrid racer, which means a twin-turbo 2.4-litre V6 and racing hybrid system for a combined 1,000hp. According to Toyota the car "is set to deliver both ultimate power and environmental performance."
Toyota President Akio Toyoda believes the company has a challenge on its hands to make cars that will be fun for the next century, commenting that "Toyota Gazoo Racing aims to continue making exciting cars to bring smiles to our customers' faces and contribute to the future of the automobile industry." And while the GR Super Sport might be a little way off, there is the next Supra to look forward to in the more immediate future. We're holding on to a faint hope that Gazoo could turn its attention to a GT86 for the UK too...
Whether the concept makes production or not, this week looks like a clear sign of intent from Toyota Gazoo: as well as the Super Sport we've seen the launch of the Yaris GRMN, there's a new WRC car, and a Lexus LC car for the N24. More on those imminently...
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Discussion
When I was a kid in the 80s I assumed when I was older "in the future" all cars would look like this. The reality is if they made it, it would have a price tag over £100k which would mean only a had full of people would ever see or own one.
I do wonder if the resonbley priced sports car can only ever be as good as say a GT86 or an MX5. The arket for 2 seaters is I suppose small but in the past we did have the MGF based on a metro etc so why can we not have a car tha tlooks like this but that can be bought by the many.
I think the answer is the GT86 a sports car that people say is not sporty needs more power etc has bland looks, if Toyota made the GT86 look like this people would still complain it did not handel was not fast enough etc and to make it all those things the price would have to go up.
Given the most popular car in the UK is a for Fiesta I do not think people really can afford cars that are 40 50 100k etc and I suspect most cars in the 30 to 60k bracket are on PCP or company car deals etc so have to be practical i.e. turn up to a supplier in a 2 seater LMP with enough space to carry a tooth brush is not going to help a sales director of a double glazing firm etc.
I do wonder if the resonbley priced sports car can only ever be as good as say a GT86 or an MX5. The arket for 2 seaters is I suppose small but in the past we did have the MGF based on a metro etc so why can we not have a car tha tlooks like this but that can be bought by the many.
I think the answer is the GT86 a sports car that people say is not sporty needs more power etc has bland looks, if Toyota made the GT86 look like this people would still complain it did not handel was not fast enough etc and to make it all those things the price would have to go up.
Given the most popular car in the UK is a for Fiesta I do not think people really can afford cars that are 40 50 100k etc and I suspect most cars in the 30 to 60k bracket are on PCP or company car deals etc so have to be practical i.e. turn up to a supplier in a 2 seater LMP with enough space to carry a tooth brush is not going to help a sales director of a double glazing firm etc.
Gecko1978 said:
When I was a kid in the 80s I assumed when I was older "in the future" all cars would look like this. The reality is if they made it, it would have a price tag over £100k which would mean only a had full of people would ever see or own one.
I do wonder if the resonbley priced sports car can only ever be as good as say a GT86 or an MX5. The arket for 2 seaters is I suppose small but in the past we did have the MGF based on a metro etc so why can we not have a car tha tlooks like this but that can be bought by the many.
I think the answer is the GT86 a sports car that people say is not sporty needs more power etc has bland looks, if Toyota made the GT86 look like this people would still complain it did not handel was not fast enough etc and to make it all those things the price would have to go up.
Given the most popular car in the UK is a for Fiesta I do not think people really can afford cars that are 40 50 100k etc and I suspect most cars in the 30 to 60k bracket are on PCP or company car deals etc so have to be practical i.e. turn up to a supplier in a 2 seater LMP with enough space to carry a tooth brush is not going to help a sales director of a double glazing firm etc.
reasonably priced sports cars have always been parts bin specials though. I do wonder if the resonbley priced sports car can only ever be as good as say a GT86 or an MX5. The arket for 2 seaters is I suppose small but in the past we did have the MGF based on a metro etc so why can we not have a car tha tlooks like this but that can be bought by the many.
I think the answer is the GT86 a sports car that people say is not sporty needs more power etc has bland looks, if Toyota made the GT86 look like this people would still complain it did not handel was not fast enough etc and to make it all those things the price would have to go up.
Given the most popular car in the UK is a for Fiesta I do not think people really can afford cars that are 40 50 100k etc and I suspect most cars in the 30 to 60k bracket are on PCP or company car deals etc so have to be practical i.e. turn up to a supplier in a 2 seater LMP with enough space to carry a tooth brush is not going to help a sales director of a double glazing firm etc.
modern day ones, especially the near 30-yr old MX5 are outstanding compared to yesteryear.
too many k/brd warriors today. Too much demand for gismos. a lot of safety. cars too heavy!
a lot of old French hatchbacks are so much fun in part because of weight, not exemplary engineering.
Bulk of the market was never sports cars though. Austins were big sellers...
Gecko1978 said:
When I was a kid in the 80s I assumed when I was older "in the future" all cars would look like this. The reality is if they made it, it would have a price tag over £100k which would mean only a had full of people would ever see or own one.
£100k? That might buy you most of the hybrid system from their supplier.You're easily talking £1-2m if they build it.
Krikkit said:
Gecko1978 said:
When I was a kid in the 80s I assumed when I was older "in the future" all cars would look like this. The reality is if they made it, it would have a price tag over £100k which would mean only a had full of people would ever see or own one.
£100k? That might buy you most of the hybrid system from their supplier.You're easily talking £1-2m if they build it.
I do not think we can have fun small light sports cars now because of regulation so if you want something fast an light then it has to cost huge sums. The Alpine etc is over 50k so therefore most buys can not afford it. While the MGF was not great I used it as an example of a car which looked cool (I was not a fan but they sold lots) but was based on a metro and was thus cheap.
Edited by Gecko1978 on Friday 12th January 14:20
well done Toyota - genuinely think they've stolen Mercedes' thunder with this. And it makes the AMG Project One styling look bland and dated too. I hope this doesn't become a one-off unicorn like the TS020 road car.DanielSan said:
Imagine LM24 having regs where this, the Valkyrie/Vulcan, LaFXX, P1GTR etc were the top class ala 90’s road going racers. That would get WEC into the eye of joe public.
Am I alone in being a bit worried for Ginetta that they will be the last person standing with an LMP1 car, I don't think its a coincidence that Mercedes, Mclaren, now toyota and Aston have all brought out these sorts of cars recently. don't get me wrong, I'd love to see a class above GTE pro with these hammering round, but that would surely be a big threat to the prestige of LMP1, I wouldn't think the manufacturers would want to go all in, if it meant they would only ever be class leaders. Which is why I'm worried for Ginetta that they are about to be heavily screwed over by ze Germans and WEC.havoc said:
kambites said:
Some headlights might be a good idea if it's going to be a road car. 
I'm fairly sure the lights are at the back of those long black teardrops inboard of the front arches.If so, that DOES look pretty cool...wonder if the beam pattern works in the real-world though?!?
Are the exhausts half way up its back?
I also can't quite determine from the article whether this is actually being touted as a possible road car by Toyota or if it's just wishful thinking on the behalf of the author? I really like the looks of it but it appears to have a cabin the size of the Valkyrie's! At least the AMG looks to have 2 folks in comfort as part of its remit, not 2 folks squeezed into the space left when the aerodynamics have been perfected. Not a problem for a race car obviously so maybe it's irrelevant.
Edited by gigglebug on Saturday 13th January 03:30
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