Move over Supra: Toyota GR GT breaks cover

TOYOTA pulled the satin sheet from its newest flagship sportscar last week, the GR GT set to usher in a new era of hybridised performance motoring and arriving as something of a spiritual successor to the Supra and 2000GT when production commences in 2027.

Also revealed ahead of a 2027 production start was a concept clearly previewing the second-generation Lexus LFA where V10 power is supplanted by a battery electric driveline.

Introduced by Toyota chair Akio Toyoda, the GR GT is a “prototype” that features Toyota’s current ‘Hammerhead’ design language up front, a long bonnet, numerous air vents and aerodynamic elements, and arch-filling 20-inch alloy wheels shod in sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber developed exclusively for the model.

Measuring 4820mm in length, 2000mm in width, and 1195mm in height, it is longer, wider, and lower than the GR Supra, and also longer in wheelbase (measuring 2725mm between the axles).

The GR GT rides on a double wishbone suspension arrangement fore and aft and is halted by Brembo carbon ceramic callipers – as standard.

Something of a road-going race car, the GT GT’s chassis is all aluminium and wears a mixture of aluminium and carbon-fibre body panels to deliver a kerb mass of less than 1750kg. Weight distribution is quoted at 45:55 front-to-rear.

Driving the GR GT is a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain paired with a newly developed eight-speed automatic transmission using a wet-start clutch in place of a torque converter.

Contributing 478kW/850Nm or greater is a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V8 with dry-sump lubrication – Toyota’s first such engine fitted to a production vehicle.

A carbon-fibre torque tube sends drive from the V8 to the rear transaxle, which along with the eight-speed transmission houses an electric motor and mechanical limited-slip differential.

Toyota says the rear-drive GR GT will achieve a top speed in excess of 320km/h, although it has not revealed a 0-100km/h time.

Mr Toyoda said the model will spawn a racetrack-ready (and petrol-only) GT3 variant plus a new Lexus LFA Concept – notably a battery electric vehicle – with all three variants showcased during last week’s online debut.

“At today’s Toyota, I now have so many like-minded colleagues who are making cars with a shared conviction,” he said.

“To these colleagues, I want to entrust our car-making endeavour, and I want to work together with them to make cars so that our ‘secret sauce’ can be passed on to future generations.

“I hope that you can continue to count on us to keep you excited.”

Inside, the red leather and Alcantara cabin of the GR GT has low-slung Recaro bucket seats, a wide digital screen and drive-by-wire gear selector plus a handful of physical buttons for the control of ancillaries.

Toyota says attention was paid to excellent operability, with driving-related switches placed near the steering wheel and positioned and shaped for intuitive operation. Rear visibility will be augmented by a camera and luggage space will be minimal.