Toyota's new supercar to make racing debut this weekend

Toyota's new halo racecar will join the Super GT field for two races this weekend as the company works to establish Gazoo Racing as a standalone brand.

2 hours ago

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Max Davies

Journalist

Orange Toyota GR GT3 race car number 32 in ENEOS X Prime livery, seen from the front quarter in the pit lane at Mobility Resort Motegi

Max Davies

Journalist

The GR GT3 will make its competitive debut this weekend, joining the grid for the final two races in the 2026 season of Japan's premier racing series, Super GT.

A twin to the GR GT supercar revealed at the end of 2025, the GR GT3 is Toyota's new dedicated racer for global competition, replacing the ageing Lexus RC F GT3 that has flown the Japanese brand's flag since its 2014 debut.

The car is planned to compete in major international GT3 championships under various Toyota-affiliated customer teams throughout 2027, including Germany's infamous Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race, with this weekend's event the first time it takes to the track in anger.

Super GT stalwarts Rookie Racing – owned by Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda – will field the official GR GT3 Concept in the competition's diverse GT300 class for the final race weekend of 2026, taking place at the Motegi racing circuit over two 250km races.

An orange ENEOS-liveried Toyota GR GT3 race car seen from the front in a Super GT pit garage as a mechanic leans over its windscreen

The GR GT3 will replace Rookie Racing's long-running Mercedes-AMG GT3 for this weekend, which has competed in every other Super GT race so far this season. It'll run alongside the team's existing GR Supra entry in the faster GT500 class.

While GT500 cars have strict regulations on engines, chassis, and aerodynamics, the GT300 class is more open. It's where teams like Subaru compete with a six-cylinder BRZ against various V8-powered GR86s and dedicated GT3 racers like the Ferrari 296, Nissan GT-R Nismo, Lamborghini Huracan, Lexus RC F, and Porsche 911, among others.

While final specifications for this weekend's GR GT3 Concept have yet to be announced, it's expected to be very similar to the existing GR GT3 prototype. The prototype was announced with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, with undisclosed power and torque figures.

It differs from the road-going GR GT, which is powered by a hybrid system comprising a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 and a single electric motor. Toyota confirmed the hybrid version had target development outputs of 650PS (478kW) of power and 850Nm of torque.

Orange Rookie Racing race cars in ENEOS livery, including the Toyota GR GT3 concept, a Mercedes-AMG GT3 and a Super GT car, parked in a garage

The GR GT3's motorsport debut follows numerous sightings of it testing at Nürburgring throughout 2026, with the road-going GR GT still expected to go on sale in Japan in 2027.

Importantly, neither car wears a Toyota badge, as they're intended as halo models for the soon-to-be-standalone Gazoo Racing performance brand.

So far, GR-branded cars have generally been hot road-going cars sold in Toyota showrooms, like the GR Yaris, GR Corolla, GR86, and GR Supra. However, Toyota last year announced that it would spin off the GR brand globally, with plans to establish standalone dealerships for its performance models.

The door has also been left open for dedicated GR dealerships in Australia, with Toyota Australia vice president of sales, marketing and franchise operations John Pappas confirming a "strategic review" of its brand structure was underway in early 2026.

toyota gr gt gr gt3 — GR GT3 (left) and GR GT prototypes

In any case, the GR GT is the most explicit demonstration of the Japanese brand's global motorsport ambitions to date. Tellingly, the halo supercar was designed as a race car first and a road car second, with even Toyota's design team excluded from the development process until the underlying mechanics and aerodynamics were in place.

The GR GT and its GT3 sibling will also be joined by a related Lexus model in the future, so far only displayed as the LFA Concept. Despite wearing the nameplate of the V10-powered legend, the new LFA has been confirmed as an electric-only model.

With the GR GT3's Super GT debut, GR's global motorsport presence continues to expand. It has already been involved in the World Rally Championship (WRC) for some time and recently announced the GR Celica will join the existing GR Yaris in 2027, while the brand is also a title sponsor of the TGR Haas Formula 1 team.

In Australia, Toyota became the most recent manufacturer to join the Supercars series. Its 2026 debut was spearheaded by the iconic Walkinshaw outfit, with five GR Supras currently in competition.