Photo: EUIPO
Back in January, Toyota showed the world a GR GT3 Concept, a wild-winged vision of a race car, at the Tokyo Auto Salon. But what was just a vision until now could actually turn into reality, as a series of patent drawings have surfaced and they seem to reveal the production version of the race car.
Two design patents were registered on May 27 with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), and they suggest that Toyota is really planning to build a production version of the sports car prototype.
The Registered Community Design (RCD) applications are accompanied by a series of images, of the car and its taillights, and show a design that is quite similar to the GR GT3 prototype it is based on, with some subtle differences.
The car in the patent drawings is not as angular, sporting a smoother shape, but is still a long-nosed grand tourer with a sculpted body. It also has tweaked bumpers and a much tamer spoiler instead of the prominent rear wing we’ve seen on the GR GT3 prototype.
Now, we know that automakers often file patents just to protect their designs, but Cooper Erikson, Toyota North America’s vice president of product planning and strategy, said in a previous statement for Motor Trend that the company had started the development of a GR GT3. And when it revealed the sports car prototype at the Tokyo Auto Salon, the carmaker hinted that a new design would enable it to test out technologies not yet found in any of its production or race car models.
Moreover, Toyota already produces the Supra GT4 customer race car and other Supra-based race cars destined for Japan's Super GT touring car series, so a new GR GT3 customer race car wouldn’t be their first foray into this field.
According to the EUIPO website, both filings have been “registered and fully published,” and if the patent proves accurate, the Toyota GR GT3 Concept might be joining the Japanese automaker’s stable soon enough.
The Registered Community Design (RCD) applications are accompanied by a series of images, of the car and its taillights, and show a design that is quite similar to the GR GT3 prototype it is based on, with some subtle differences.
The car in the patent drawings is not as angular, sporting a smoother shape, but is still a long-nosed grand tourer with a sculpted body. It also has tweaked bumpers and a much tamer spoiler instead of the prominent rear wing we’ve seen on the GR GT3 prototype.
Now, we know that automakers often file patents just to protect their designs, but Cooper Erikson, Toyota North America’s vice president of product planning and strategy, said in a previous statement for Motor Trend that the company had started the development of a GR GT3. And when it revealed the sports car prototype at the Tokyo Auto Salon, the carmaker hinted that a new design would enable it to test out technologies not yet found in any of its production or race car models.
Moreover, Toyota already produces the Supra GT4 customer race car and other Supra-based race cars destined for Japan's Super GT touring car series, so a new GR GT3 customer race car wouldn’t be their first foray into this field.
According to the EUIPO website, both filings have been “registered and fully published,” and if the patent proves accurate, the Toyota GR GT3 Concept might be joining the Japanese automaker’s stable soon enough.
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