The news cycle usually slows down near the end of the year, but this will be a December to remember thanks to Toyota. We’ve already learned a new supercar will break cover on Friday morning in Japan, but it turns out there’s more to the story. The GR GT will share the spotlight with a Lexus-badged model, and as if that weren’t enough, a track-only machine will join them as well.
A new teaser image puts the road-going Toyota front and center. It might not actually carry the Toyota badge since the automotive juggernaut recently announced plans to make Gazoo Racing a separate brand. Consequently, the car hiding in the shadows might simply be known as the GR GT.
But the more intriguing part of the teaser is the swoopy coupe on the left. It appears to have a more dramatic roofline than the GR. It’s undoubtedly the Lexus version since the taillight design matches that of the Sport Concept. We’ve adjusted the image’s brightness to reveal more design details, including the textured glass panel housing a vertical third brake light.
Both the GR and its Lexus counterpart are expected to share an already announced V-8. The newly developed gas engine reportedly displaces 4.0 liters and uses a pair of turbochargers. Expect some form of electrification, but not necessarily a plug-in hybrid. For what it’s worth, the Sport Concept mentioned earlier was definitely a hybrid.
As for the one on the right, the Michelin track tires and full roll cage confirm we’re looking at a race car. Louvers in the front fenders further set it apart from the street-legal model, as do the plexiglass windows and flush door handles. By the way, it’ll be interesting to see how the doors open on the road-going car, considering there doesn’t seem to be a visible handle. Both street cars share vertical air intakes in the lower section of the fenders.
Some of you will recall that the track-only version made its first appearance nearly four years ago. In January 2022, Toyota brought a GR GT3 concept to the Tokyo Auto Salon without saying anything about a potential production version. However, our sister site Motorsport.com learned a year later that there would be a Lexus-badged model with a license plate.
We imagine both will cost six figures, with the Lexus likely commanding a premium over the Toyota while still staying well below the LFA’s $375,000 territory. The high-performance vehicles are collectively described as future “all-new sports models,” although there’s no mention of what badges they’ll wear.
Toyota and Lexus now sit within an expanded group of brands that also includes GR for performance vehicles and Century for top-tier luxury. Daihatsu continues as the value-focused brand centered on the Japanese market.
Considering the triple world premiere will occur at 11 AM Japan time on December 5, Americans will see these cars on Thursday evening at 9 PM Eastern. Europeans will have to get up super early on Friday, at 2 AM GMT, to discover the V-8 trio.
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