"Cars Get Better the More They Are Tempered on the Track" Why Toyota Is Committed to Motorsports

"Roads Shape People and People Create Cars"
Toyota's Philosophy Reflected in Racing as Well

Team Gazoo, the winner of the 2021 World Rally Championship (WRC)

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] "Car racing holds a meaning beyond mere entertainment. There is no better way to improve a car. Just as an Olympic athlete squeezes out every last drop of strength, a car also evolves by pushing its limits through racing."

This is a quote from Toyoda Kiichiro, the founder of Toyota Motor Corporation, the world's largest automaker. After establishing the company in 1937, Toyota participated for the first time in the N?rburgring 24-hour race in 2007 under the name "Team Gazoo," 70 years later. It is a grueling race where nearly half of the participants drop out midway due to the harsh course.

The team name "Gazoo" comes from the Japanese word "gazou," meaning image or photograph. It was also the name of an online site Toyota created over 20 years ago to show inventory cars at dealerships along with photos. Although common now, it was an unfamiliar and groundbreaking approach at the time. It was intended to give customers a reasonable opportunity to choose from various products and to express Toyota's commitment to making better cars.

Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota's motorsports division and racing team, is an organization that reflects the brand philosophy that "the road makes people, and people make cars." Their vision is to create cars that people can enjoy driving for the next 100 years, which is why they are dedicated to developing automotive technology through racing.

Toyota models that participated in last year's World Rally Championship

In 2015, Toyota consolidated its in-house motorsports activities, which had been divided between Toyota Racing and Lexus Racing, into Toyota Gazoo Racing. Then, in 2017, they established it as a separate company. The GR (GAZOO Racing) model lineup consists of production models that incorporate the know-how and technology accumulated through motorsports. In 2019, they introduced the first production model of the GR sports car series, the Supra. The GR Supra is a model that was discontinued after 2002 and reintroduced 17 years later with a modern sensibility. Alongside it, there are pure sports cars such as the GR Yaris and GR86. The top-tier lineup includes the GRMN Yaris, Hilux GR Sport, and Land Cruiser GR Sport.

Toyota Gazoo Racing is also actively involved in South Korea. Since 2020, it has participated as the official cowl sponsor applying the exterior design of Toyota's sports car GR Supra to the racing cars in the 6000 class of the CJ Logistics Superrace Championship. The race cars in this competition are fitted with cowls made of lightweight materials such as reinforced plastic, which reduce weight while maintaining high strength. The body is replaced every four years. Last year, a racing class event was held for GR Supra customers at Inje Speedium in Gangwon Province, and this year, a similar event was held in Yongin, inviting customers of the Supra as well as the 86 and Lexus RC lineups.

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation (left), is reviewing records with driver and engineer Hiromu Naruse.

The recently launched GR86 in South Korea is a revived model of the Toyota 86, which was first introduced in 2012. The Toyota 86 was a "people's" sports car developed with an ultra-lightweight rear-wheel-drive concept, inspired by the AE86 featured in the manga Initial D. Making a sports car, often considered a niche product, accessible to the general public is proof of Toyota's capability to supply high-quality finished cars with advanced technology at a reasonable price. The successor, the GR86, is praised for embodying the motorsports expertise of Toyota Gazoo Racing.

The engine displacement has increased from 2.0 liters to 2.4 liters, and the time to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h has been reduced to 6.3 seconds. Aluminum is used throughout the body to reduce weight. The manual transmission, front-engine rear-wheel-drive (FR packaging), and naturally aspirated boxer engine preserve the dream of drivers who enjoy dynamic driving. It continues the legacy of a driver-focused sports car that allows the driver to fully unleash the vehicle's performance and enjoy lively handling. In South Korea, it was released in two versions, Standard and Premium, both equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission.