986 HP Toyota GR Super Sport Concept Officially Revealed

Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Super Sport Concept 3

Toyota GR Super Sport Concept takes inspiration from Le Mans race machine with flared fenders and big rear wing

Last month, Toyota formally announced that a new concept would be revealed at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon and it was teased by its motorsport division with a dark image of its silhouette. The concept is not something funky or futuristic Japs are known for but a hardcore ground-hugging monster under the Gazoo Racing performance banner. Dubbed the GR Super Sport Concept, it is inspired from LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype) racing.

Toyota has had plenty of recent success in World Endurance Champion and despite finishing behind Porsche in the championship and missing out on Le Mans glory due to reliability issues, it secured most wins this year and arguably had the fastest race car around. With the exit of Porsche from LMP1, Toyota is all set to rule the roster in 2018 and certainly put the emphasis on Gazoo in commercial aspects.

Also Read: Toyota Sub-Compact SUV To Soon Become Reality 

It boasts the silhouette of a LMP1 car with heavily raked windscreen and bulged wheel arches. Other notable design elements in the Toyota GR Super Sport concept are low slung roof profile, a huge rear wing as in the TS050 LMP1 Hybrid with shark fin above the engine cover at the rear.

The GR Super Sport Concept took plenty of components from the TS050 Hybrid Le Mans racer and it comes powered by a 2.4-litre twin-turbo V6 engine connected to a dedicated Toyota Hybrid System as in the race car. It has a combined power output of 986 horsepower (1,000 PS).

Also Read: India-Bound 2018 Toyota Rush Seven-Seater SUV Unveiled 

Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Super Sport Concept 2
Except for the hybrid powertrain, Gazoo Racing did not reveal any other information and the concept is part of developing sports cars from active race cars according to Gazoo Racing’s President Shigeki Tomoyama. It could open up a new pathway for the GR lineup of performance vehicles developed by Toyota and Gazoo.

The concept is unconventional in many manner and it does not have headlights, traditional doors and windows as it remains as a design study for now. The quirky front fascia does indicate that it has gone through aero department for efficiency. If the GR Super Sport Concept enters production, it could be sold in limited numbers but it’s highly unlikely in the near future.

Toyota will be taking the centre stage at the Tokyo event as a couple of other performance cars under the Gazoo Racing brand will break cover. One being the 86 GR and the other Vitz (Yaris) GRMN exclusive for Japan with a limited production run of just 150 examples.

Toyota Gazoo GR Super Sport Concept