The Toyota GT3 GR Concept first seen at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon will become the Lexus LFR.
We first saw this all-new Lexus supercar idea at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon when it debuted as a Toyota GT3 GR Concept.
As a spiritual heir to the ballsy V10-powered LFA supercar and a competitor to vehicles like the Aston Martin Vantage, Lamborghini Huracan and even the hybrid Ferrari 296 GTB, Lexus is preparing to introduce a new V8-powered supercar.
The extreme Toyota GT3 GR concept car has since developed into a prototype that has been spied lapping with a throaty sounding exhaust note at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Toyota’s motorsport division, Gazoo Racing, is expected to have it ready for elite competition in 2026, which will include the Le Mans 24 Hours.
FIA homologation rules stipulate that GT3 race cars share their basic body design with a road-going car. This means we can expect to see a down-tuned version of the GT3 GR land in showrooms by 2026.
As it did with the rally-tuned GR Yaris hot hatchback, Toyota has previously stated that it will continue “commercializing motorsport cars rather than simply adapting production vehicles for use in motorsports.”
This upcoming Lexus supercar will employ a twin turbo V8 hybrid.
In keeping with the Lexus’s heritage of big-engined sports cars, which includes the LFA, LC 500, IS-F and RC-F, the road-going GT3 GR is more than likely to don a Lexus badge rather than a Toyota one.
New Supercar Rumored To Be Called LFR
The road car, potentially dubbed the ‘LFR,’ is expected to share the prototype’s screaming V8 soundtrack, which is rumored to have twin turbos married to a hybrid unit.
Together with partners Mazda and Subaru, Toyota recently unveiled plans to “revolutionise” the internal combustion engine, reinforcing its philosophy that ICE technology will be important for automobiles even as the world moves more towards pure electric vehicles.
Lexus To Employ Twin Turbo V8 Hybrid
Toyota has commented openly and often about the potential benefits of ongoing ICE research for sports cars in particular. The company has made significant investments in the development of sustainable fuels and has even teamed up with Yamaha to produce a 5.0-liter V8 that is compatible with hydrogen, which may also be used in the upcoming sports car.
In my story from February 2022, we saw that the coupe is expected to launch in 2026, and be powered by a newly developed twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 engine developing 710-hp and mated to a next-generation plug-in hybrid system that will boost the car’s combined horsepower to a neck-snapping 940-hp.
Masahito Watanabe, the head of Gazoo Racing, recently said that Toyota is not investing in full electrification for sports cars, preferring to pursue a “multi-pathway” approach that entails gasoline hybrid, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen-powered fuel celled cars and fully electric vehicles.
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