Toyota Gazoo Racing Unveils GR Super Sport Concept
At Tokyo Auto Salon 2018, Toyota Gazoo Racing unveils the GR Super Sport Concept, a concept car that incorporates hybrid technology honed through participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, along with its test car.
"Rather than developing production cars into sports cars, we aim to work out how to incorporate the know-how developed through races and rallies into production cars amid various restrictions, and this is how competing contributes to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's efforts toward making ever-better cars", said Shigeki Tomoyama, President, GAZOO Racing Company. The technologies and know-how acquired through such activities are subsequently fed back into new production vehicles.
In Japan, orders for the Vitz GRMN, a limited edition model that stands at the pinnacle of the GR sports car series, are scheduled to be taken starting in April. It was developed by incorporating learnings from the Vitz as it underwent road testing at Nürburgring, which is said to be the world's most grueling course, and through its tackling of the Japanese Rally Championship.
"I hope that the GR Super Sport Concept will give you a taste of what we aim to achieve with our next-generation sports cars."
M. Tomoyama
Furthermore, Toyota's continued participation in the WEC is seen as a highly beneficial and necessary project in terms of developing cutting-edge hybrid systems and electrified vehicle (EV) systems. Fuel economy-enhancing technologies and other developments gained through such tough technological competitions are already being fed back into production vehicles. The newly revealed GR Super Sport Concept is composed of mostly the same main parts as the TS050 Hybrid race car that competes in the WEC.
Beneath the beautifully flowing and original form are a V6 twin turbocharger and a Toyota Hybrid System-Racing (THS-R) powertrain, which have been honed through actual racing. With its high-efficiency EV system and lean-burn engine, this next-generation super sports car is set to deliver both ultimate power and environmental performance.
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