Toyota's New Prototype GR Super Sport Racing Car
GR's Super Sport laps LeMans for the first time, the year before it's scheduled to race for real.
Next Step
Development of the new Toyota Gazoo Racing Super Sport is well underway, as the car recently made its public debut at the legendary Le Mans circuit for a demonstration lap with former Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Alex Wurz behind the wheel. It was also just the next step in the development process that will see the Super Sport hit the track in a racing capacity next year.
Photos: Toyota
Small Taste
"It was an honor to drive this development version of the GR Super Sport for the first time in public, and especially at a circuit like Le Mans which is so closely connected to this car," Wurz said. "The GR Super Sport was born at Le Mans so this felt like a homecoming. This was my first time driving the car, so a demonstration lap doesn't allow me to push the limits but I could already feel that the GR Super Sport has the potential for incredible performance. I could feel the similarities between the GR Super Sport and the TS050 HYBRID in terms of performance, particularly the four-wheel drive and the hybrid system. But the engineers tell me this was only a small taste of the GR Super Sport's true performance so I am super excited to drive it again one day in the near future."
Photos: Toyota
>>Join the conversation about the new GR Super Sport Racing Car right here in the Club Lexus Forum!
Halo Car
The Super Sport concept was originally revealed at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon. The LMP1-inspired hypercar pumps out 986 racing-derived hybrid horsepower, and is destined to become the halo car for Toyota's new GRMN brand alongside the GRMN Yaris and forthcoming GRMN Supra.
Photos: Toyota
>>Join the conversation about the new GR Super Sport Racing Car right here in the Club Lexus Forum!
Racing Inspired
The GR Super Sport Concept looks a lot like a prototype LMP1 or LMP2 car, with its low-slung profile, bubble-like cockpit, and shark fin designed to keep the car stable at high speeds. It's 2.4-liter V6 and hybrid combo drivetrain also draws influence from the company's endurance racing efforts, to the point where it actually makes more power than WEC currently allows.
Photos: Toyota
>>Join the conversation about the new GR Super Sport Racing Car right here in the Club Lexus Forum!
Race on Sunday
The whole point of the GR Super Sport is to bring Toyota's racing technology to the road, as is the case with the GRMN Yaris. But while that car finds its inspiration from the automaker's rally efforts, the Super Sport is a direct road-going translation of what it has learned in the LMP1 class, where Toyota is now the manufacturer of the only work.
Photos: Toyota
>>Join the conversation about the new GR Super Sport Racing Car right here in the Club Lexus Forum!
Totally Justified
If nothing else, cars like the Super Sport Concept help to justify Toyota's continued involvement in events like Le Mans. "Rather than developing production cars into sports cars, we aim to work out how to incorporate the know-how gained from racing and rallying into production cars," said Shigeki Tomoyama, President of Toyota Gazoo Racing. "This is how sporting competition contributes to Toyota Gazoo Racing’s efforts to make ever-better cars."
Photos: Toyota
>>Join the conversation about the new GR Super Sport Racing Car right here in the Club Lexus Forum!
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