Toyota had a packed show stand at this year’s Tokyo car Salon, launching everything from a new GR sport trim-level for the bZ4X electric SUV to a much more focused version of the GR Yaris. And, sitting off to the side of the company’s road automobiles was this – the GR GT3 Concept.
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The GR GT3 concept racer was developed to compete in the entry-level class of racing series such as the Australian GT championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours. However, the class guidelines stipulate that GT3 racers should be based on production cars.
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Toyota has that covered, though, because it says the GT3 concept falls under the same company model as the GR Yaris. The brand says it will “commercialise its motorsports cars, rather than simply adapting production cars for use in motorsports.”
So, the GR Yaris was developed for rallying – and it spawned a production variant to meet the homologation guidelines of the racing series. The same technique is expected of the GR GT3, with a road-going model following closely behind the racer.
We have yet to receive any information about what’s powering the GR GT3 Concept. All we know is that it’s some form of combustion engine, as hinted by the exhaust poking out of the side skirt, just behind the front wheel. given the length of that bonnet, we also expect the engine has been pushed as far back in the chassis as possible, for better weight distribution.
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It’s possible that Toyota called on BMW for the much more powerful competition version of the turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine found in the Supra. In the M3 Competition, the unit develops 503bhp and 650Nm of torque, which just squeaks above the 500bhp minimum figure required to be eligible for the GT3 class.
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