Video: The new Lexus LFR? Toyota GR GT3 filmed track testing
05/31/2024 06:00 PM
One of the most anticipated sports cars in recent memory has been spotted testing again, this time at the iconic Spa racetrack.
The 2026 Toyota GR GT3 racing car – which may end up being sold to customers in road-guise with a Lexus badge – has been filmed testing at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
The video published on YouTube by LB-Motorsport Videoshows the camouflaged racing car – first shown as a Toyota concept in January 2022 – with a large swan-neck rear spoiler, suggesting this is the racing version rather than a road car.
As with a previous spy video of the prototype, the distinct note of a V8 engine can be heard – all-but confirming earlier reports of Toyota developing a 4.0-litre twin-turbo, potentially with hybrid assistance.
Multiple Japanese media outlets have pointed to a successor to the Lexus LFA supercar being in development, with some suggestions the model will be based on the underpinnings of the Toyota GR GT3.
Lexus teased a concept with similar proportions in December 2021, called the Electrified Sport.
Less than three months later, Toyota Racing Development President David Wilson told US magazine Car and Driver there was a link between the GR GT3 and a future Lexus model.
“It's fairly safe to connect the dots and suggest that that could be a precursor to the next global GT3 car for Lexus,” Mr Wilson said at the time.
An image of a GR GT3 – this time wearing a Lexus badge on the front – emerged online in September 2022, reportedly on display at a Lexus dealer conference in the US.
In October 2022, Lexus filed a trademark for the the LFR name – further fuelling earlier rumours of a successor to the V10-powered LFA.
However, it’s possible a road-going Toyota halo sports car will also be offered – effectively replacing the Supra – to be sold along with the Lexus version.
Following a digital illustration published by Drive in June 2022, dubbed the GR GT – borrowing its name and design elements from the Toyota 2000GT from the 1960s – Toyota submitted trademark filings for the GR GT name in January this year.
Rob Leupen, the head of Toyota’s World Endurance Championship team, told website Motorsport.com in June 2023 a new racing car was currently under development, with the intention to compete in Europe in 2026.
“The date is in alignment with the road car side, which is following the philosophy of Toyota to have a motorsport-bred car on the road. This is moving forward at the moment,” he said at the time.
The post Video: The new Lexus LFR? Toyota GR GT3 filmed track testing appeared first on Drive.
