Toyota Stuns with 3 New Supercars

Unveiled at Toyota’s Woven City near Fuji Speedway in Japan, the company took the covers off three new supercars, the GR GT, GR GT3, and the all-electric Lexus LFA concept, which will all be put into production.

The GR GT3 is an FIA-approved homologated race car that won’t be road legal, but the GT is essentially the road-going version with nearly the same dimensions. Most importantly, both will be equipped with a new in-house-developed dry-sump 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 mated to a rear transaxle that incorporates a bespoke eight-speed automatic transmission and electric motor. This beast of a setup will send its power exclusively to the rear wheels.

Official power figures have not been confirmed as the car is still in the development phase, but the company says to expect a minimum of 641 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. Since it’s also a hybrid, the electric motor will enable near-instantaneous throttle response and immediate power delivery, according to a development engineer responsible for the GR GT and GT3.

“It can drive on track very aggressively, and that was part of the development program. As a GR car, that is at the forefront, but there are concessions made to comfort as well, so the customer can get the best of both worlds,” he said.

The design was based on aerodynamics first and styling second, which makes this new supercar — with an imposingly long hood and ultra-low height of just 1,195 mm or less than four feet — look like a Japanese Dodge Viper. Under the carbon and composite body panels lies Toyota’s first all-aluminum chassis, chosen for its low weight and high rigidity, one of the three guiding principles that dictated development. The other two were a very low centre of gravity and the aero-first design.

The interior, finished in bright red suede and leather, is intimate and driver-focused with a small-diameter flat-bottomed steering wheel with a Porsche 911-like drive mode selector and traction control dial. Pushing the start button awakens the turbo V8, which has an aggressively loud bark when blipping the throttle. The seats are wonderfully comfortable and supportive, using a lightweight carbon frame with segmented sections of padding.

There are also no Toyota badges anywhere to be found, because the GR GT and GT3 will head off a new sub-brand within the company called GR, and they will be the halo products continuing a legacy that was started with the 1967 Toyota 2000 GT and the V10-powered Lexus LFA from 2010.

The utterly gorgeous LFA concept will be powered by electric motors and share core technologies with the two GR supercars. It’s promised to offer an immersive driving experience with a snug and minimalist cockpit that separates driver and passenger. “It was a directive from Akio Toyoda that the LFA have an emotional soundtrack,” said one of the development engineers responsible for the GR GT.

How much of it makes it to production remains to be seen, but if the current LC 500 is a guide, it will be pretty close to what you see here.

Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota, said at the reveal that these stunning new supercars will preserve the “secret sauce” of car making using techniques passed down by the engineers responsible for the last LFA. Toyoda said this secret sauce was made from the “pain of humiliation” 14 years ago when he was told at the Pebble Beach Concours that Lexus was boring. Under Toyoda’s direction, the company reversed course from focusing on sales volume and profits to making its cars desirable and fun to drive, directly resulting in the Supra and the GR (Gazoo Racing) brand.

There’s no pricing available, but a source from the company said, “There are a lot of GT3-based sports cars (911 GT3, Huracan GT3) which can be used as a reference to the pricing.”

Considering a new Porsche 911 GT3 starts around $250,000, we have a ballpark figure but little else.

An on-sale date wasn’t confirmed either, with “maybe next year” being the closest thing to an answer we could get. But one thing is for sure: these new supercars from Toyota are easily the biggest and best surprises of the year.