Toyota starts the year in a spectacular way. Later this month, the brand will pull the curtain on the GR GT3 Concept and an extra spicy version of the GR Yaris. That’s going to be fun.
Toyota has acquired a lot of sporting taste in recent years. We were introduced to the Supra, the eccentric GR Yaris and of course the GR86. Anyone who thought that it would be fun again for the time being, is wrong. Toyota is working on an extra potent version of the already not exactly modest GR Yaris. That car showed up on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife several times last year and we will soon see the end result. The curtain will be lifted during the Tokyo Auto Salon, which starts on January 14, Toyota now reports.
Toyota GR Yaris
We don’t get much more information and Toyota only shows the special GR Yaris in a dark teaser photo. Nevertheless, there are already some external differences with the regular GR Yaris. For example, the new version has an air inlet in the hood and a thicker spoiler on the back. We already saw the latter on the most recent spyshots, the air scoop is new. Toyota talks about the ‘fully tuned’ GR Yaris, but it is not yet entirely clear whether the car will also be allocated more power in addition to aerodynamic extras. The 1.6 three-cylinder with supercharger already stamps out an impressive 261 hp power. We are curious to see if there is even more that can be done.
GR GT3 Concept
A bigger surprise is the GR GT3 Concept that Toyota is taking to the show floor in Tokyo. On the teaser plate at the very top of this article we see the silhouette of that cracked nose. While you might expect Toyota to build on the Supra for a GT3 car, we see another yet unknown model. A car that is somewhat reminiscent of the Mercedes-AMG GT in terms of shape. As we dive into Toyota’s history, the long nose and far-rear-aft cab makes it hard to draw a parallel with the famed 2000GT. It will probably not be a full-fledged retro 2000GT.
Toyota says the GR GT3 Concept is fully focused on racing and that it features things that Toyota Gazoo Racing has developed in motorsport. There is therefore a good chance that the GR GT3 Concept borrows technology from the WEC racer GR010 Hybrid. The four-wheel drive hypercar has a 3.5-liter biturbo V6 that delivers up to 680 hp power to the rear wheels and is assisted by a 272 hp electric motor on the front axle. In the WEC, the system power is limited to 680 hp and the electric motor and combustion engine each provide a part of it, the GT3 Concept may only do it with the V6. We’ll know more in a week.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl