"Motorsports Revitalization"... Top 1 and 3 Car Companies Join Hands

Hyundai Motor Invited to Toyota GR Everland Speedway
Jung Eui-sun and Chairman Akio Toyoda Also Attend in Person

Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation announced that they will hold a joint motorsports event on the 27th at Everland Speedway in Yongin.

While it is common for each company to participate in racing competitions or hold events individually, it is unusual for different brands to invite customers together and prepare a motorsports event. This is also the first time Hyundai and Toyota have joined hands to hold a joint event. <Reference: This paper's issue on the 12th, Toyota Chairman to debut in Korean motorsports next month... Co-hosted with Hyundai Motor>

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda have confirmed their direct participation in this event. With the top executives of both companies gathering, there is keen interest in whether they will concretize cooperation plans in new business areas. Toyota is the world's number one in sales volume, and Hyundai Motor Group ranks third among complete car manufacturers.

"Motorsports Revitalization"... Top 1 and 3 Car Companies Join Hands

Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation (left), and Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group

The event they are preparing together is named the Hyundai N × Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival. Hyundai N represents the high-performance brand. Gazoo Racing (GR) is a term combining the Japanese words for painting/photo and garage, encompassing Toyota's motorsports division. Both companies participate together in the World Rally Championship (WRC).

Both companies stated, "We aim to make this event a stepping stone for the motorsports culture to advance to the next level by providing a track day where customers can enjoy high-performance vehicles together and showcase both companies' cars running in the same space."

They have prepared driving experience programs such as show runs that replicate actual race competition scenes and taxi ride experiences where customers can feel the performance of race cars. Hyundai N has prepared various high-performance models including this season's WRC rally cars. The Ioniq 5 N Drift Spec, specialized for drifting, will also be featured. Toyota Gazoo Racing will present race cars and high-performance models such as the GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid.

Vehicle lineup of Hyundai N and Toyota GR to be showcased at the 'Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival'
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Company, Toyota Korea]

Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo from Hyundai Motorsport, ranked first in this season's WRC driver rankings, and Norbert Michelisz, the 2023 TCR World Tour champion, will visit Korea for this event. From Toyota, WRC driver Takamoto Katsuta and Toyota GR World Rally Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala will attend.

Chairman Chung and Chairman Akio will also visit the site to share their passion for automobiles with customers. Additionally, brand-specific specialized product exhibition booths will be set up at the venue, along with displays of next-generation eco-friendly vehicles.

At the Hyundai N booth, the high-performance hydrogen fuel cell concept car N Vision 74 and the Ioniq 5 N TA Spec, which set records at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in the United States, will be exhibited. At the Toyota GR booth, the liquid hydrogen engine GR Corolla, which uses liquid hydrogen as fuel, and the hydrogen concept car AE86 H2 Concept based on the Sprinter Trueno featured in the manga Initial D will be displayed.

'i20 N Rally 1 Hybrid' (right) and 'GR Yaris Rally 1 Hybrid' competing in the WRC
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Company, Korea Toyota Motor Corporation]

Lee Young-ho, Head of Global Business Management at Hyundai Motor, said, "We are pleased to invite Toyota Gazoo Racing, which fiercely competes in the WRC, to Korea. This will be an opportunity to demonstrate Hyundai Motor's commitment to expanding motorsports culture through collaboration with Toyota Motor, achieved through pure passion for automobiles."

Manabu Konyama, President of Toyota Motor Korea, said, "Hyundai N and Toyota GR, both challenging motorsports, have joined forces to create an opportunity to enjoy various car cultures beyond motorsports. We will continue to strive to activate and expand the base of motorsports culture in the future."