2027 Toyota GR GT is a Twin-Turbo V8 Hybrid Supercar
Toyota is going supercar hunting with the Gazoo Racing GT, a flagship coupe that will spawn a dedicated GT3-class race car.
After weeks of teasing, Toyota late Thursday revealed the GR GT and GR GT3 prototypes, the brand's new high-performance flagship and its track-ready sibling. The low-slung sports cars join the reborn Lexus LFA on a whole new, all-aluminum platform, a first for the brands. And while the Lexus will sport a battery pack and electric motors, the Toyota models will employ a 4.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine.
The new engine sports a dry-sump setup to ensure it can be mounted as low as possible in that new chassis. Not only that, but in typical Toyota fashion, it will be a hybrid setup. Not exactly the sort you see in your average RAV4, mind you: the V8 will send its power through a driveshaft within a rigid carbon torque tube to the eight-speed transaxle, where the one electric motor is located. A mechanical limited-slip differential should ensure the power all makes its way to the ground effectively. How much power? Toyota is targeting at least 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque.
The space-frame chassis features "low-mount" double wishbone suspension, and based on Toyota's own diagrams sets the engine almost completely behind the front axle line. No wonder the GR GT has a 45:55 front-to-rear weight distribution. There's a whole lot of carbon in the mix, too: the body panels are either aluminum or carbon fiber-reinforced polymer, while the big Brembo brakes are carbon-ceramics. They peek out from behind the thin spokes of 20-inch alloys, while. the rear tires are massive 325-section meats. Serious stuff.
Toyota stresses the importance of a low center of gravity here. The whole package is said to weigh in at around 3,858 lb (1,750 kilograms), which sounds reasonable given all the hardware on display.
The cabin takes a more traditional approach to its look and feel than the ultra-focused Lexus LFA. The red and black color scheme uses GR's primary colors; indeed, you won't find a Toyota badge anywhere here. A simple, upright central screen sits above a handful of toggles, with more buttons and a low-profile shifter housed within the wide transmission tunnel. The skeletal Recaro buckets look awesome.
And the looks? There's a bit of Toyota's hammerhead look in the mean front-end, but the dominant feature is that acres-long hood. The GR GT looks like it just escaped from the local race track.
To that end, the GR GT3 doesn't even bother with barely-disguised road car formalities. This is a pure race car, yet still makes use of the road car's aluminum chassis, double-wishbone suspension, and the V8 engine. No word on the hybrid system here, or just how much weight Toyota will shave out of the car for track duty.
2027 Toyota GR GT: All The Details
We expect the GR GT to touch down some time next year, as a 2027 model year car. We also expect it to start well into the six figures, given its performance. Watch out, Porsche 911 and Corvette E-Ray.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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Kinda ugly. Reminds me of a Nissan GTR: fast but not particularly attractive.
2027 Toyota GR GT is a Twin-Turbo V8 Hybrid Supercar with a noticeable snout. Ohhh, what a snout, a la 1960's Jaguar e type.