TOYOTA GAZOO Racing aims to refine its cars and people toward the goal of making ever-better cars through participation in motorsport activities, including global and national races and rallies. 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.

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.

Around the same time as Toyota was on its way to winning the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, the automaker posted video of its coming Le Mans racer on track. Toyota announced the GR Super Sports concept at Le Mans last year, and just announced that it would campaign the race version of that car in the so-called Hypercar class created for the 2020/2021 World Endurance Championship. The show car in the video is our most updated look at what, in road-going trim, could be an all-wheel-drive hybrid with 986-horsepower or more.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda shared wheel time with factory driver Kamui Kobayashi, both men running the prototype between the kerbing at Japan's Fuji Speedway. The exhaust soundtrack has been replaced by a rock soundtrack, so we have no idea yet what the coming treat will sound like. It appears there are two prototypes, one with a roof scoop, one without. Based on the rendered race car Toyota put out with the WEC announcement, our guess is that the race car gets the roof scoop.

WEC rules for the hypercar class limit each entrant to 750 horsepower and a maximum weight of 2,425 pounds (1,100 kg). The cars are allowed to use hybrid power, but the hybrid component can't provide more than 270 hp.

That's certain to make the road car more powerful than the endurance racer. It's thought the THS-R powertrain (Toyota Hybrid System - Racing) from the current TS050 Hybrid race car will move straight into the GR Super Sport, meaning a twin-turbo 2.4-liter V6 with 493 hp and two electric motors that contribute a combined 493 hp. Freed from racing rules, and with high-dollar, high-horsepower competition from the Aston MartinValkyrie and Mercedes-AMG One, there's reason to believe Toyota would push horsepower matters past the four-figure mark.

As per the WEC regulations, competitors in the new class need to produce a minimum of 20 road cars based on their race cars within two years of the start of competition. That puts the GR Super Sport on the road by summer 2022. Start saving.

Here’s your yearly reminder that Toyota is building a hypercar. Just like it did in last year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota has provided us a preview of the GR Super Sport.

This car will run in the hypercar class in the World Endurance Championship, but the regulations require that anyone who enters will also need to produce a minimum of 20 road cars based on the race car. Toyota says the car we’re looking at in photos here is a GR Super Sport development car that is customized as a convertible and wearing the now-recognizable GR camouflage. Remember the same camo on the GR Supra a couple years ago?

Details are scarce on the ground concerning the road car version headed our way, but here’s what Toyota said about it: “The GR Super Sport epitomizes Toyota Gazoo Racing's commitment to use motorsport to make ever-better road cars for the enjoyment of customers, and it symbolizes the ever-closer relationship between Toyota Gazoo Racing race and road car products.”

From what we’ve witnessed so far, more GR in Toyota road car products is a very good thing. The GR Yaris (that isn’t coming here) is a great example of what Toyota is capable of doing when it harnesses its engineering might. As for this car, it’s likely going to have near (or over) four-digit horsepower and a price tag that’ll buy you many lifetimes of Camrys. Its relation to the now three-time-Le-Mans-winning TS050 Hybrid should help it immensely. And in case you missed it, Toyota just happened to win Le Mans again last weekend.

LE MANS, France — Toyota Gazoo's No. 8 car comfortably won the 24 Hours Le Mans by five laps from Rebellion No. 1 on Sunday to secure a third straight victory in the prestigious endurance race.

It was also a third consecutive win for Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi and Japan's Kazuki Nakajima driving. Brendon Hartley was the other driver, having replaced two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.

Buemi and Hartley sat on the side of the car as Nakajima drove toward the podium. Hartley won for a second time after tasting success with the Porsche LMP Team in 2017 before an unhappy season in Formula One.

The Swiss team's Rebellion No. 1 featured American driver Gustavo Menezes and Brazilian Bruno Senna — the nephew of late F1 great Ayrton Senna.

It finished one lap ahead of Toyota Gazoo’s No. 7, with Rebellion's No. 3 finishing in fourth place.

For much of the race it looked like Toyota’s No. 7 would win after leading comfortably from pole position. But late into the night the car encountered an engine problem and the 30-minute stop in the stands proved costly.

The race was first held in 1923. A total of 252,500 spectators attended in 2019, but there were none this year when the race started three months late because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We miss the fans,” New Zealander Hartley said. “I look forward to seeing all the fans again.”

Toyota No. 7 took pole after former F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi narrowly edged out the Rebellion No. 1 team in qualifying.

In damp and humid conditions Mike Conway got away cleanly from the start, while Senna held off Buemi.

After nearly seven hours, Toyota's No. 8 fell back after a 10-minute stop in the stands to fix a brake-cooling problem on Kazuki Nakajima's car. Rebellion's No. 1, driven by Frenchman Norman Nato, took advantage to move into second place behind Toyota's No. 7.

Then came the decisive moment at 2:40 a.m. as the No. 7 — also featuring Argentine José María López — encountered a turbo problem. When the car came back out it was back in fourth.

“We had a few problems early in the race,” Nakajima said. “Later they had a bigger issue than us.”

Rebellion's No. 1 encountered a problem on the hood at around 9 a.m. and the change took six minutes, allowing the Rebellion No. 3 (Nathanaël Berthon-Louis Delétraz-Romain Dumas) to close the gap.

It was becoming a tight battle between the two Rebellion cars behind Toyota's No. 8.

At 12 p.m. Rebellion No. 3 with Dumas behind the wheel was only one second ahead of No. 1 driven by Menezes. Then both cars came in for a driver change with Delétraz swapping for Dumas on a lengthy stop, and Nato for Menezes as Rebellion No. 1 suddenly moved ahead of its team rival.

Dumas, a winner in 2016 with Porsche, appeared unhappy at the strategy decision to bring his car in first and the length of the stop. There were tense explanations in the team garage.

Colombian Tatiana Calderón, an F1 test driver with Alfa Romeo, was in the Richard Mille Racing Team in the LMP2 category. She was joined by German Sophia Flörsch — an F3 driver — and Dutchwoman Beitske Visser. They placed ninth out of 24 in their category.