Toyota’s new GT3 racer skips the road car hybrid and goes for pure V-8

Toyota’s eventful presentation today at the Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Japan featured not only the street-legal GR GT and the reborn Lexus LFA, but also a track-only machine. Considering the Lexus RC F GT3 is already a decade old, it’s safe to say the GR GT3 can’t come soon enough. Despite organizing the world premiere, Gazoo Racing will not release the race car until “around 2027”, when the road car will also go on sale.

Although the two GR GT models are cut from the same cloth, there are some notable differences. For starters, the racing machine does away with the electric motor integrated into the road car’s transaxle. Consequently, the GT3 race car is a pure V-8 machine with a variation on the newly developed 4.0-liter twin-turbo engine.

Toyota aims for a curb weight of 1,750 kilograms or lower for the version with license plate. As you can imagine, the GT3 will be much lighter, after removing the electric motor and stripped-down cabin. It will have to comply with class regulations, so it must adhere to a minimum weight based on the balance of performance (BoP). For reference, the aging Lexus RC F GT3 has a starting weight of 1,250 kg (2,755 lbs).

The new GR GT3 has a much more aggressive, aerodynamic bodywork with a massive rear wing and slats on the front fender. It eschews the road car’s rear-mounted quad exhaust tips in favor of an arguably more spectacular side exit, echoing its predecessor. Predictably, the interior is much less civilized, having been stripped down to the essentials.

Compared to the road car, its cousin in racing overalls is slightly longer, wider and lower. It measures 188.3 inches (4,785 mm) long, 80.7 inches (2,050 mm) wide and 42.9 inches (1,090 mm) high. You’ll also see Rays centerlock wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport track tires instead of a five-lug setup and Pilot Sport Cup 2-way rubber. Both have Brembo carbon-ceramic brake discs front and rear.

Toyota doesn’t say anything about the power, but again: that will depend on the BoP. For the street-legal GR GT, the engineers are aiming for at least 641 hp and 850 Nm, although these figures also include the extra power of the electric motor.

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Source: Toyota

Since the car won’t be ready until 2027 at the earliest, the venerable Lexus RC F GT3 will race for at least another season. The new track machine has been a long time coming, as the concept was first shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January 2022. Although it bears some resemblance to the four-year-old show car, the real example looks considerably hardcore.

Toyota calls it a “prototype still in development,” so some details may change once the GR GT3 is finally ready to race.