Toyota reveals epic GT3 Concept and an even hotter GR Yaris
Monday, 17 January 2022
Toyota has revealed a handful of new concepts at the Tokyo Auto Salon, and one should light a lot of fires in the bellies of sports car enthusiasts.
It’s called the GT3 Concept, and it looks phenomenal. The front end looks a bit like an angry Camaro, with each headlight split horizontally by a strip of bodywork, sitting above a large grille and equally sizeable front splitter.
Massive wheels reach right up to the top each of the bonnet, with a stubby side-exit exhaust pipe sitting just aft of the arches. The bonnet itself is huge, indicating there will be a lot of space for what lies underneath.
The rear end houses a massive spoiler and rear diffuser, split by a full-width Lexus-like LED light bar.
**READ MORE:
* Toyota's first-ever hypercar will arrive next year with 735kW
* Road test review: Toyota GR Supra
* Top Car for fun: Toyota GR Yaris
**
Toyota is keeping very quiet on technical specs, only saying that Gazoo Racing wants to “commercialise motorsport cars”, rather than adapt production vehicles for use in motorsports.
That’s a very similar approach to Mercedes back in the day, which created the CLK GTR as a racing car first, then added the bits and pieces necessary to make it road legal. Porsche did the same thing with the 911 GT1.
We can’t really look to the GT3 racing requirements to get an idea of what powers Toyota’s concept, as the regulations are quite open when it comes to powertrain.
As of 2020, around 50 vehicles are homologated for racing. They include the Mercedes-AMG GT3, Ferrari 488 GT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R, and Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3. All use racing versions of the road-going engines, limited to power outputs of between 372kW and 447kW and weights between 1200 and 1300kg, which means Toyota is relatively free to slot whatever it wants into the GT3 Concept.
At a guess, we would assume the powertrain would be electrified to some extent, judging by the small diameter of the exhaust pipe, and the note of “making the world of motorsports sustainable.”
Whether that means a retuned version of the GR010 prototype’s hybrid V6 or a new engine entirely is unclear, but we’d bet on the former. As good as an electrified version of the Supra’s straight six might sound, it’s unlikely BMW would let that happen.
A prototype will be up and running by the end of 2022, which means it will probably be racing in the 2024 season. Should we expect a road-going version sometime around then as well? Put it this way; the GT3 regulations insist on cars being based on road-going models…
Meanwhile, Toyota also revealed a spicer version of the Top Cars-winning GR Yaris, called the GRMN Yaris. Two versions will be available through a lottery system, the Circuit Package and the Rally Package.
There aren’t any engine changes, but weight has been dropped by around 20kg by ditching the rear seats, adding a high-rigidity carbon fibre roof, bonnet and rear spoiler. A new manual transmission has closer ratios between first and fourth, with a lower final drive to aid acceleration.
To improve reliability during endurance races and other situations, SNCM material was used, and shot processing was added to every gear but second (for some reason), significantly improving shock torque and fatigue strength.
Additionally, the overall width was increased by 10mm and height reduced by 10mm.
Opting for the Circuit Package (the black one) gets special BBS 18-inch wheels, 18-inch brakes, Bilstein shocks with adjustable damping, and carbon body bits.
Meanwhile, the Rally Package (the red one) gets smaller wheels, GR-spec shock absorbers, short stabilisers, a GR under guard, and a GR rollbar, along with a carbon bonnet and roof.