• Road car counterpart to Toyota GR GT3 race car has been spotted
• New sports car may be marketed as a Lexus LFR
  
• Power expected to come from V-8 hybrid powertrain
  

Toyota is developing a new GT3 race car that will form the basis of a high-end sports car for the road, and a prototype for the road-going model has been spotted again.

The race car was previewed by a concept at the 2022 Tokyo auto salon, and has been spotted in the past testing hard at some of the world’s top racetracks, such as Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps.

Some competitions where the race car might end up include the IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. The race car is expected to make its competitive debut in 2026, and the road car is expected to launch around the same time, making a 2027 model year arrival likely.

Toyota executives have hinted that a road-going version of the race car is coming. The GT3 class requires race cars to be derived from road cars, so it is inevitable that Toyota’s new race car, which isn’t based on any current road car, will eventually spawn a model you can drive on the street.

What isn’t clear is whether the car will be marketed as a Toyota or a Lexus, though most rumors point to the latter, as it will allow the racing version to take over for the aging Lexus RC F GT3 on the racetrack. Lexus a few years back also presented the Electrified Sport, a production-bound electric sports car concept with similar proportions, perhaps pointing to some shared development.

The development is still at a relatively early stage, and the final design may evolve on the road to production, as the design of the prototype is still very close to the race car. It still features polycarbonate for the windows, for example.

Lexus Electrified Sport – Photo credit: Noriaki Mitsuhashi/N-Rak Photo Agency

There are some clear differences between the race car and road car prototypes, though. The road car has a smaller rear wing compared to the race car, and it also uses conventional rear-mounted exhaust tips instead of the side exhaust of the race car. The front and rear fascias are also unique, and on the road car the front splitter is a lot smaller. The road car also has street-legal tires, in this case a set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

Toyota hasn’t provided any details on the race car, but under the hood is expected to be a V-8 engine. The road car will likely also use the V-8, albeit paired with a hybrid system. The yellow warning stickers on the prototype confirm it as an electrified model, and according to our photographer the car upon start up drives for the first few feet on electric power alone before the gas engine kicks in.

2027 Toyota/Lexus GR GT spy shots – Photo via Baldauf

A possible name for the car is GR GT, a name Toyota has trademarked. The “GR” here signifies Gazoo Racing, the official motorsports department for both Toyota and Lexus. The race car is expected to be called a GR GT3.

The name LFR has also been rumored, which if used on the Lexus would tie the car with the LFA supercar from a decade ago. Lexus made moves to trademark the LFR name in 2022.