Latest news with #GRYaris
The Drive
a day ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Toyota's New Mid-Engine Testbed Sidelined by Development 'Difficulties'
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Toyota's not-so-secret mid-engine sports car program has hit a snag. The GR Yaris M Concept, which the company announced back in January, has still not made an appearance in Japan's Super Taikyu racing series. With five of the seven races scheduled for 2025 already in the bag, it's becoming increasingly unlikely that the GR Yaris M will race in the series this year. Why? Well, as it turns out, designing a proper mid-engine performance car is tricky. 'The GR Yaris M Concept exhibited at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2025 held in January is undergoing full team development in pursuit of further possibilities for the GR Yaris, with a view to participating in the Super Taikyu Series,' Toyota's announcement said. 'While many challenges have been identified and improvements are ongoing, there are difficulties unique to midship-mounted vehicles in terms of braking, steering, and driving, and Toyota has therefore decided not to participate with this vehicle at Autopolis to refine it further,' it said. With the new mid-engine race car still sidelined, Toyota instead brought along the #32 GR Yaris (a standard front-engine car, prepped as it was for the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race held in June) and the ENEOS-built #28 GR86. Mid-engine platforms are tough to dial in—just ask General Motors, which spent more time developing the C8 Chevrolet Corvette than just about anybody anticipated. It says a lot that even Toyota, which is in a position to draw on institutional knowledge from its development of the MR2, is facing setbacks. If there's any good news here, it's the fact that Toyota has acknowledged the delay openly. A pet racing project like this might normally die quietly in the face of mounting market pressures. Public updates like this suggest that this is more than just a frivolous boondoggle, meaning that it likely has implications for Toyota's future sports car development. In other words, new MR2 when? Got a news tip? Let us know at tips@
Auto Express
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
What is a Gazoo? And how does it make today's fast Toyotas special
Gazoo might sound as if it comes straight from the Black Lace songbook, but in fact it's Toyota's performance brand, which has gone from zero to hero in just under a decade, securing wins on both road and track. What is it, though, what makes it special, and why does it have such a strange-sounding name? To find out, we got behind the wheel of arguably Gazoo's finest creation, the GR Yaris, and headed to the firm's headquarters in Cologne, Germany, for an exclusive tour of its development facilities and historic racing museum. Producing cars for both keen drivers and the upper echelons of motorsport, Gazoo Racing is Toyota's motorsport division. However, those familiar with the manufacturer's history will know that it's not the only one, nor is it the first. Advertisement - Article continues below GR was founded in 2007, and Toyota's previous racing and road car achievements can be attributed to both Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) respectively, both formed years earlier. With Toyota having already secured victories in rallying through the Celica and Corolla, plus strong finishes in sportscar racing (including Le Mans) with the GT-One, Gazoo Racing arrived at a time when TMG was struggling with its entry into Formula One; Toyota was bleeding cash and off the leading pace, despite having drivers of the calibre of Ralf Schumacher and Timo Glock. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below GR was originally devised as a means to train up junior mechanics, with the goal of entering the Nürburgring 24 Hours race, and Toyota's so-called Master Driver, Hiromu Naruse, was called in to supervise. The concept of a Master Driver might seem a bit cheesy, but it's something Toyota takes very seriously, with the person bearing this title getting final say on the driving dynamics of the firm's cars. We sat down with GR's current Vice chairman, and three-time Le Mans winner, Kazuki Nakajima, who told us, 'Having a Master Driver is what makes Gazoo Racing really stand out.' Today, Toyota's Master Driver is Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder and sitting president. But it was only through intense training under Naruse that Toyoda was able to gain this title and take on his racing pseudonym, Morizo. Advertisement - Article continues below Nakajima famously told his corporate bosses, 'Somebody in [his] position, who doesn't know the first thing about driving, shouldn't make passing comments about cars. The least [he] can do is learn how to drive.' While such a comment in any other scenario would have resulted in the test driver being fired, the Japanese hold the utmost respect for racing drivers and their skills. This being the case, Naruse instead took Toyoda under his wing, setting him on a path of transformation. This would take him from what some might perceive as a company executive who'd gained his status thanks to his family connections, to the next 'Master Driver', and stepping into the racing seat himself. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below 'What's important for GR is that we always have our Master Driver,' Nakajima said. 'We can clearly say that [Morizo] is a true car lover. I mean the passion he has for driving, as well as his capability to feel the car properly, is real.' Gazoo Racing got its name from a website Toyota was operating at the time; was set up in the mid-2000s to sell second-hand Toyotas using photographs posted online. The name Gazoo itself is derived from the Japanese word for 'picture', and given that the name 'Toyota Racing' was already taken, Naruse and Morizo went with GR instead. Advertisement - Article continues below While GR's first racing entry in the 2007 Nürburgring 24 Hours was unexceptional – Team Gazoo finished a mediocre 104th – it still sparked the idea that racing could be an invaluable tool for developing road cars. With this in mind, Gazoo returned to the Nürburgring the following year with a mysterious development car, which bore the designation LFA. Yes, that's right; Gazoo Racing was very much involved with the development of what has become one of the most beloved modern supercars: the shrieking V10-powered Lexus LFA. Following this, Gazoo also raced pre-production versions of the Toyota GT86 – another lauded future classic – and continues to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours to this day. Nakajima told us that the philosophy of racing closely mirrors that of the GR development team, explaining that 'The cycle of 'Push the limit, break the car, fix the car', which we use in motorsport, is exactly the same as what's used on the road car side. Because of this endless effort, our product is getting better and better, and it's nice to see that customers feel that and share our excitement.' Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below However, disaster struck in 2010 when Naruse was testing the hardcore Nürburgring Edition of the LFA and suffered a fatal crash. Morizo reflected on the early days of Gazoo with Naruse, saying, 'Back then, I was overcome by various disappointments: the disappointment of not receiving any support; the disappointment of not being taken seriously, no matter what we did; [and] the disappointment of being belittled, no matter what we did.' Advertisement - Article continues below Morizo said that such disappointments are the reason why he champions the phrase 'let us make ever-better cars', and the team at GR appeared to take this rather literally, spending the next few years tinkering around and developing a hardcore version of the GT86. With Morizo designating Gazoo Racing as Toyota's official performance arm in 2015, the Japan-only, limited-edition GT86 GRMN (Gazoo Racing, Meisters of the Nürburgring) took learnings from Gazoo's time endurance racing with the GT86. It boasted more power than the regular car, along with a custom crankshaft, upgraded suspension, bucket seats and a fairly lairy aero kit. However, it wasn't the first car to wear the GRMN designation; that was, would you believe, a souped-up version of the iQ city car. Like the GT86, this was limited to 100 models and was only sold in Japan; unlike the GT86, however, a second version was sold later, packing a supercharger and more punch. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below The UK's first experience of Gazoo was the Yaris GRMN, which was limited to just 600 units worldwide and like other models from Toyota's performance arm, got a heavily revised chassis compared with the standard model. Putting out a healthy 209bhp from its fruity-sounding 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine, the GRMN was a tantalising taster of what hot hatch buyers could expect from GR in just a few years. Before then, however, Gazoo needed to make the jump from building limited-run specials to series-production performance models. That time came in 2018, with the GR Supra – the fifth generation of the long-running sports car and successor to the legendary A80 Supra. Advertisement - Article continues below Created in collaboration with BMW, the Toyota GR Supra was designed to be more focused than the soft-top Z4 with which it shared many of its parts – including the 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine. Like a thoroughbred, the GR Supra has been developed to be as darty and frisky as possible, with a chassis that, according to Toyota, is more than two times stiffer than even the carbon-fibre tub used by the LFA. Around the time of the Supra's launch, Gazoo Racing was also making history because, after re-entering the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2012, the team won Le Mans in 2018. The winning car was piloted by Nakajima himself, with F1 legend Fernando Alonso, and F1 racer and future Formula E champion Sebastian Buemi. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below From here on, GR's racing success only grew, with two more consecutive Le Mans wins at the hands of Nakajima and team, as well as a win in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2018 with a rally-tuned version of the Yaris. However, with WRC regulations about to change in 2020 and Toyota feeling a three-door bodystyle would suit its racing efforts the best, the team at Gazoo Racing was set to work to build a full-on homologation special version of the Yaris, similar to the likes of the Audi Sport Quattro and Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 decades before. Advertisement - Article continues below The result was the Toyota GR Yaris: one of the greatest modern hot hatches, or performance cars in general, for that matter. Yet despite an impressive 261bhp output (280bhp in updated models), benefitting from four-wheel drive and reaching 62mph in similar time to an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, none of this is what's most impressive about the hot Yaris. You see, the GR Yaris shares only its lights, mirrors, and antenna with the standard car. Its roof is made of carbon fibre and the entire car sits roughly 6cm wider than the regular hybrid courtesy of aggressively flared wheelarches. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Bearing this in mind, Nakajima explained how the Yaris specifically, as well as the GR brand as a whole, 'is symbolic because it [represents] a change of culture at Toyota, focusing less on the volume and cost-competitiveness of a car and more on making the best car possible.' If you've never driven a GR Yaris, it's important to try and convey how tactile an experience it is, and we certainly don't mean that in a sense of the car being draped in plush, sumptuous materials – something which it most definitely isn't. The gearbox, for example, is superbly rewarding to operate, with the gearstick perfectly positioned, a short-yet-satisfying throw and emitting the sort of deep 'clunk' whenever you shift that would feel right at home in one of those ASMR videos you see and hear online. Advertisement - Article continues below Plus, despite its four-wheel drive system being electronically controlled – drivers can select Normal or Track settings to adjust the torque distribution – the sensation of the car shifting its power around in order to maintain maximum grip is palpable, with the Yaris' rallying pedigree most evident when you're pushing on through the tight, twisting roads of places like the Peak District, where we've explored the GR's abilities. It's no surprise, then, that the GR Yaris and its rallying success – three World Championships since 2022 – has turbocharged support for the Gazoo Racing brand; the hot Yaris, for example, has been notoriously hard for buyers to secure an allocation for, while the GR86 (the successor to the aforementioned GT86) made the ticket sales for the Oasis reunion tour seem slow, selling out in just 90 minutes. Toyota knows this, though, and is beginning to lean heavily on the Gazoo brand with the launch of GR Sport trim levels across the company's line-up, bringing sportier styling and often mild chassis upgrades to more mainstream models. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below But those whose appetites won't be whetted by a somewhat sporty trim level now that production of the GR Yaris and GR86 has ended, should fear not; Auto Express recently revealed that the previously US-only GR Corolla will soon be available to UK buyers, with the car being built in Burnaston, Derbyshire, from next year. Advertisement - Article continues below In the longer term, however, the team at GR is looking at sustainability as part of Toyota's 'Multi-Path Solution' approach. 'There are a lot of interesting projects going on with which we can transfer our technology to [series] production,' Nakajima said. 'For example, with powertrain engineers working on our H2 hydrogen [WEC] racing concept, this naturally creates conversations of how to bring this sort of technology to the road.' Almost certain to have the GR badge when it reaches production, the FT-Se will be an electric sports car. Toyota has also hinted at a revival of the Celica and MR2 nameplates in the future.'For years, electric power [for Toyota] has been used for fuel economy, in both hybrids and EVs; as a driver, I think there's a lot more to come, and a lot to play with to create some excitement,' Nakajima hinted. Ultimately, GR's rise to the top has been nothing short of incredible, especially given the short time in which it has been achieved. Toyota's performance arm has managed to churn out future classics at such a speed that it makes the firm's renowned factory Production System look inefficient in comparison. Akio Toyoda is often quoted for his analogy of a tree, saying that 'when unusually rapid growth causes the rings to grow abnormally thick, the trunk weakens and is easily broken'. And while this is certainly the case for most firms, the evident passion and expertise at Gazoo Racing are likely to mean it'll be as solid as an oak for years to come. Did you know you can sell your car with Auto Express? Get the highest bid from our network of over 5,500 dealers and we'll do the rest. Click here to try Auto Express Sell My Car now ... Find a car with the experts Range Rover's secret mid-size EV: Inside its £500m factory Range Rover's secret mid-size EV: Inside its £500m factory We take an exclusive look inside JLR's revamped Liverpool site as the brand gears up for EV production MG4 and MGS5 EV prices slashed in reply to Government Electric Car Grant MG4 and MGS5 EV prices slashed in reply to Government Electric Car Grant In order to boost sales, MG is announcing its own a £1,500 grant for some of its EVs Chinese cars will take over as Britain's best sellers Chinese cars will take over as Britain's best sellers With a dramatic rise in sales, Mike Rutherford thinks it's only a matter of time before Chinese cars outsell all other countries in the UK
IOL News
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Surviving the East London Grand Prix Circuit: a day of speed and surprises in the Toyota GR Cup
Overnight rain had drenched the circuit and made the run-off areas a muddy quagmire with the new surface on Cox's Corner becoming an ice rink. Image: Supplied The fifth round of the Extreme Festival and the Toyota GR Cup was everything we expected and dollops more as we tackled the blisteringly fast East London Grand Prix Circuit. It was a race that hovered constantly in the background as the season progressed due to its unforgiving nature, legendary fast bends, tight infield and hairpin corners. As a result, Toyota Gazoo South Africa (TGRSA) had arranged for us to spend time on the simulator at their headquarters at Zwartkops under the watchful eye of instructor Devon Scott, so that we at least had an idea of the layout before getting in behind the wheel of our GR Yaris. Practice We were out early for practice on Friday morning to experience first hand Potters Pass, a fast sweeping righthander, followed by Rifle Bend, taken with your foot on the floor before hard braking for the Cocobana hairpin. It's a lot different from the simulator, let me tell you, and the first session was spent getting familiar with the track, sussing out brake markers and turning points. Border motor racing had resurfaced Cox's Corner, which forms part of the twisty Complex section, and it proved to be the nemesis of quite a few of us as we struggled to find grip before heading flat out into the Sweep towards the final hairpin into the main straight. My times steadily improved in practice two and three with the help of Lorenzo Gualtieri from Comprehensive Driving Solutions, who insisted I could carry a lot more speed and needed to be more aggressive with the turns at The Complex. It takes a paradigm shift not to lift off on Rifle Bend to keep speeding at more than 220km/h towards the Beacon Bend hairpin. It's a hard brake to be sure from the 100m marker, but the Powerbrakes on the GR Yaris quickly slow you down before another flat-out section down the Beach Straight and into Butts Bend before the Esses. Independent and IOL's GR Yaris #60. Image: Supplied Rainy race day Race day dawned cold, wet and misty. Overnight rain had drenched the circuit and made the run-off areas a muddy quagmire. Puddles, streams and a constant drizzle around a relatively unknown track on sem-slick Dunlop tyres resulted in some nervous discussions in the GR Cup paddock. We had been divided into two qualifying sections as a result of the large 25-car grid so that there would be enough clean air between us. I was in the second group; the cars before us had dried up some of the racing lines while the sun was beginning to peek out behind the clouds which augured well for qualifying times. We were instructed to stay to the right of the main straight and to keep the accelerator pinned to the floor through the streams of water flowing over the track. I used the first two laps to gauge new braking points in the wet and especially how to maneuver through The Complex which had become an ice rink. I'd use lap three as the first hot lap and stomped on the accelerator after Beacon Bend. With the sea as a backdrop, the East London Grand Prix Circuit is the fastest in the country. Image: Supplied Dangers of Motorsport Coming up behind the spray of Riaan de Ru in his GR Corolla #555, I saw a slight twitch of his car as it started to aquaplane and slipped past his outside. At the first marshal point after Potters Pass, red flags waved furiously. We were directed back into the pits, where we were told that #555 had had a horrific accident, skidding off the track before hitting the tyre barrier and somersaulting through the air before landing on his roof. It's a testimony to the quality of the safety systems, including the roll cage and the safety equipment we have been issued with, that he managed to walk away unscathed. It was also a sobering reminder of the risks we take every time we go out on track. As a result, qualifying was cancelled, and we'd be using the best times set in practice. Round five of the Extreme Festival tested drivers and cars to the limit. Image: Supplied One race The day's programme was also reshuffled as a result of the extensive delays as cars slid and crashed that saw our two heats consolidated into one race of 12 laps. That would mean 50 percent more laps. The sun was out so we'd have to keep an eye out for drivetrain temperatures, as a result of the track's incredibly fast layout placing an enormous strain on components, tyre management would be crucial and so would looking after the brakes. It would be another rolling start and for the first time this season I managed to get away really well. Turning into Potters there was an almighty spin-off by some of the competitors which I managed to avoid allowing me to make up a good few places, including fifth place in our class. I was starting to get into a rhythm and was chasing down those ahead of me passing a few as my lap times decreased and the car responded to my inputs. Even the sketchy parts of the track were now starting to become a bit more comfortable at speeds close to and over 200km/h. With so many accidents, it was also a sobering reminder of the risks we take every time we go out on track. Image: Supplied Crash boom bang On lap eight heading out of the complex and onto the sweep with the accelerator floored, a GR Corolla tried to pass on my inside and hit me on the driver's side causing me to spin across the track and into the outfield. It was an almighty thump. Fortunately I managed to control the slide, but I had lost all momentum as I rejoined with the pack passing me. The car seemed to show no component damages or alignment issues, but for the rest of the race I was playing catch-up. The day's topsy-turvey events compounded by an unnecessary spin once again showed that racing is a cruel mistress. Still, I had managed to conquer the circuit, overcome the fear of Potters and Rifle and brought GR Yaris #60 back in one piece. We have a six week break in the calendar before the second last race of the season and our second outing at Killarney Race Track in Cape Town.
TimesLIVE
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
TimesLIVE racer finishes second at a rain-soaked East London circuit
Prince George Grand Prix circuit — a sunny East London Friday practice day greeted the throng of racers in the eight classes of the Extreme Festival Tour powered by Coca-Cola on Saturday. The rehearsal preceded an eventful qualifying and racing on a Saturday morning marked by cold and rainy weather resulting in a number of racing incidents and another second place podium finish for the No 50 TimesLIVE Toyota GR Yaris. Qualifying With panic about this track having set in weeks before in our GR Yaris rookie group, its reputation preceded its real enjoyment. It's the fastest circuit on the calendar with potential to hit more than 220km/h on some sections and it introduced us to new and wilder emotions, the crucial decision-making pro racers face at times for a chance at victory and as pure survival tactics. A wet East London immediately offered surprises, starting with loss of control of my GR Yaris on the sixth lap of qualifying. I held on but decided the conditions were too dangerous and opted to exit the session before its close. An undamaged car was the priority no matter where I'm placed on the starting grid. The drama taps were then switched on. The first red flag was raised when dealer man Riaan de Rui hit a patch of water that trickled onto the main straight during the GR Cup group two qualifiers, his GR Corolla careening off the track and landing on its roof. The Gauteng resident escaped uninjured, but it caused a long delay as race marshals rebuilt the tyre wall. With the day's arrangements muddled up and with the rest of the qualifiers scrapped, the luck I'd hoped for going into this race shined when GR Cup team manager Leeroy Poulter made the call that Friday's practice times would now determine the start grid positions for the late race. It would also be a single 12-lap race for double points instead of the regular pair of eight-lap heats. The heat My fastest practice time of 1:36.563 meant starting fifth on the mixed dealer/media class grid and third in our GR Yaris field, behind Car Magazine's Kyle Kock. A good launch on a dried track had me neck-and-neck with Kock with AutoTrader's Lawrence Minnie nearby heading into turn 1 — the frighteningly fast Potters Pass curve. We continued towards the even faster Rifle bend and into the slow Cocobana right turn with me still behind Kock and him tailing dealer man Mario De Sousa. Sticking close by paid off as Kock skidded and overshot his braking on approach to Beacon bend with De Sousa holding back to avoid contact. The fracas created an opportunity for me to pass on the inside line and I didn't miss the chance to capitalise and pounced for a double overtake on the pair onto the main straight. I never looked back until the chequered flag where I finished second in the class behind winner and championship leader Nabil Abdool from SuperSport. The weekend's point haul is a bigger cushion against Kock who arrived in East London a single point behind me in the overall standings. The next round will be a return to Cape Town's Killarney raceway on September 13.
7NEWS
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- 7NEWS
Toyota Australia recalls almost 70,000 vehicles including RAV4 Hybrid
Toyota Australia has issued a product safety recall notice involving almost 70,000 late-model vehicles across seven model lines, including the Toyota RAV4, Corolla, Corolla Cross, Camry, CH-R, GR Yaris and Kluger. The problem relates to a potentially faulty digital instrument cluster in certain cars produced between July 2022 and April 2025, totalling 69,586 vehicles (see the full VIN list below) in which the speedo and other vital information may not display. 'The subject vehicles have a 12.3-inch display on the instrument panel that shows various information (warning and indicator lights, vehicle gauges, messages, etc),' says Toyota in its recall notice. 'There is a possibility that the display can be blank when the vehicle starts and will remain in this state. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. 'Due to improper programming of the combination meter, unnecessary data is repeatedly written to a memory device in the combination meter when the combination meter operates, causing the memory device to deteriorate earlier than intended. 'If this occurs, the monitor will not be displayed at ignition on and will remain in this state. Driving without speedometer and any warning may result in an increased risk of an accident in certain driving conditions. The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) list can be found here Specifically, the recall involves the CH-R Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Corolla Hatch Hybrid, Corolla Sedan Hybrid, Corolla Hatch, Corolla Sedan, Corolla Cross Hybrid, Corolla Cross, GR Corolla, GR Yaris, Kluger, Kluger Hybrid, RAV4 and RAV4 Hybrid. Toyota Australia says it will contact all owners of affected vehicles, and that its dealers will update the instrument cluster software in affected vehicles free of charge, in a process that takes one to 2.5 hours depending on the model. 'Depending on the dealer's work schedule, owners may be required to make the vehicle available for a longer period of time,' said Toyota. In the meantime, Toyota says affected vehicles are safe to drive and asks owners with additional questions or concerns to contact their local/preferred Toyota dealer in the first instance, or the Toyota Recall Campaign Helpline on 1800 987 366.
