Photo: Toyota
With the introduction of the GR and GR Sport lines of go-faster models, Toyota finally took a step in the right direction. An automaker that’s in dire need of more exciting vehicles, Toyota has a full-on hot hatchback to be proud of (Yaris GRMN), the GT 86 boxer sports car, and the soon-to-debut G29 Z4-derived Supra.
The GRMN family will grow, availability of GR models will extend beyond Japan, and there’s a lot more coming from Toyota’s newfound love for driving enjoyment-oriented vehicles. Shigeki Tomoyama, president of Gazoo Racing, confirmed to Automotive News that there’s an all-new, dedicated sports car platform currently in the works, although he didn’t go into specific details.
On the sidelines of the GR launch event, Tomoyama said: "In its next phase, we will get a designated sports car platform and eventually — finally — we want to introduce a pure, genuine sports car, which can compete against top-class world competitors." There’s no denying the purists will applaud this development, which was made possible by Gazoo Racing going independent.
Toyota took its hands off the motorsport division earlier this year, thus giving Gazoo Racing more leeway to do what it knows best. Some 200 people are tasked with every stage of product development, including engineering of the all-new platform. According to Toyota head honcho Akio Toyoda, “we have to show to the world that Toyota can actually make cars that are interesting."
As a funny side note, the man “beguiled attendees [of the GR launch event] afterward by doing doughnuts and burning rubber in the parking lot behind the wheel of his black and silver Gazoo Racing-spec Toyota 86.” There’s no denying the higher-ups are betting big on emotion and enthusiast drivers, and whichever way you look at it, the decision will surely pay dividend for the volume-oriented brand mostly known for making reliable cars.
A few days ago, the Japanese automotive media lit the Internet on fire with a rumor according to which the next-generation Mazda6 and RX-9 rotary-powered sports car will ride on a rear-wheel-drive platform developed by Toyota. Given this hearsay from Mazda’s side, the plot is thickening.
On the sidelines of the GR launch event, Tomoyama said: "In its next phase, we will get a designated sports car platform and eventually — finally — we want to introduce a pure, genuine sports car, which can compete against top-class world competitors." There’s no denying the purists will applaud this development, which was made possible by Gazoo Racing going independent.
Toyota took its hands off the motorsport division earlier this year, thus giving Gazoo Racing more leeway to do what it knows best. Some 200 people are tasked with every stage of product development, including engineering of the all-new platform. According to Toyota head honcho Akio Toyoda, “we have to show to the world that Toyota can actually make cars that are interesting."
As a funny side note, the man “beguiled attendees [of the GR launch event] afterward by doing doughnuts and burning rubber in the parking lot behind the wheel of his black and silver Gazoo Racing-spec Toyota 86.” There’s no denying the higher-ups are betting big on emotion and enthusiast drivers, and whichever way you look at it, the decision will surely pay dividend for the volume-oriented brand mostly known for making reliable cars.
A few days ago, the Japanese automotive media lit the Internet on fire with a rumor according to which the next-generation Mazda6 and RX-9 rotary-powered sports car will ride on a rear-wheel-drive platform developed by Toyota. Given this hearsay from Mazda’s side, the plot is thickening.
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