New Automobile Preview: Toyota GR GT Brings Twin Turbo V8 Fury To A Light-weight Flagship : Automotive Addicts

Automotive

Toyota has a brand new halo automobile, and it’s a wild one. After icons just like the 2000GT and the Lexus LFA, Gazoo Racing is stepping up with the GR GT, a low slung, highway authorized race automobile that feels prefer it rolled straight off a GT grid and onto public roads. From its numbers alone, you possibly can inform this isn’t simply one other efficiency coupe. Toyota is concentrating on not less than 640 horsepower from a model new twin turbo V8 hybrid powertrain, wrapped in an all aluminum body with critical aero and a stance that virtually hugs the pavement.

On the coronary heart of the GR GT is that contemporary twin turbocharged V8 paired with a single electrical motor built-in into the rear transaxle. Collectively they’re anticipated to ship a minimal of 640 horsepower and 627 pound toes of torque, all despatched to the rear wheels via a newly developed eight pace computerized gearbox. Toyota may be very clear that these figures are baseline targets for the prototype, not closing bragging rights, which leaves the door open for even greater numbers by the point the automobile hits manufacturing. The entire package deal is about planting the driving force low within the chassis, holding the mass down, and unlocking as a lot efficiency as doable from the powertrain and aero.

The GR GT can also be a milestone for Toyota’s engineering toolbox. That is the corporate’s first use of a full all aluminum body, with physique panels produced from a mixture of carbon fiber strengthened plastic and aluminum. That concentrate on shaving weight pays off all over the place. A lighter construction lowers the middle of gravity, lets the suspension work extra successfully, and provides the aerodynamic parts a greater platform to do their job. Toyota is concentrating on a curb weight of three,858 kilos or much less. That’s heavier than a stripped Porsche 911 GTS, however the GR GT is chasing it down with roughly 110 extra horsepower and a wholesome torque benefit. Towards one thing just like the Chevrolet Corvette E Ray, the match up appears to be like much more fascinating, with the GR GT coming in a bit lighter and punching laborious on torque.

In fact, large energy and low weight demand critical {hardware} to maintain the whole lot in test. The GR GT rides on 20 inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, with huge 325 part tires on the rear doing their greatest to place that V8 hybrid shove to the bottom. Behind these wheels sit large carbon ceramic brakes in any respect 4 corners, prepared to clean pace lap after lap with out fading. Gazoo Racing didn’t cease with {hardware} both. The automobile was developed in parallel with the GR GT3 race automobile, and the 2 share suspension parts and the dual turbo V8 engine structure, which is an enormous purpose this factor appears to be like and sits a lot like a full blown GT racer.

Visually, the GR GT completely leans into that race automobile for the highway theme. The roofline is extremely low, with an general peak of simply 47.0 inches, making it even shorter than each the 911 GTS and the Corvette E Ray. The sprint to axle ratio is exaggerated in the perfect sort of method, with an extended hood, compact cabin, and muscular rear haunches that give the automobile a cartoonishly aggressive profile. Out again, a quad exit exhaust is tucked deep into the rear diffuser and aero parts, giving the tail a barely sinister look when you’re watching it from behind. Alongside the edges, the sculpted vents and decrease sills appear to be they’ve been borrowed straight from a GT3 paddock.

Inside, the GR GT feels far more Lexus than Toyota, and that could be a praise. The cabin is unapologetically driver targeted, with carbon backed Recaro bucket seats that look prepared for a harness bar, minimalist however upscale supplies, and an general structure that’s all in regards to the enterprise of driving. In actual fact, you’ll not discover conventional Toyota badges inside. Gazoo Racing clearly needs this to face as its personal assertion automobile. Sport and luxurious are blended in a method that feels acquainted in case you keep in mind the LFA, solely now wrapped round a contemporary hybrid V8 as a substitute of a screaming naturally aspirated ten cylinder.

Taken collectively, the brand new GR GT looks like a correct flagship for Gazoo Racing and for Toyota as an entire. It’s gentle, highly effective, full of critical {hardware}, and tied carefully to the model’s GT3 racing effort. On paper, it traces up as a critical rival to a number of the most revered efficiency vehicles on sale, from Stuttgart to Bowling Inexperienced. Now the large query is whether or not the sound from that twin turbo V8 can stay as much as the offended, highway authorized race automobile look. If it does, Toyota may need one other legend on its fingers.

Darryl Taylor Dowe is a seasoned automotive skilled with a confirmed monitor file of main profitable ventures and offering strategic session throughout the automotive business. With years of hands-on expertise in each enterprise operations and market improvement, Darryl has performed a key position in serving to automotive manufacturers develop and adapt in a quickly evolving panorama. His perception and management have earned him recognition as a trusted skilled, and his contributions to Automotive Addicts replicate his deep data and keenness for the enterprise facet of the automobile world.