“No more boring cars,” a famous quote from Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda back in 2017. Initially, fans and enthusiasts were skeptical of his claims, viewing them as borderline delusional from the makers of the Prius.

Even after the debut of the 86/BRZ twins, Morizo had enough of the embarrassment and continued to develop more exciting cars, such as the GR Supra, the GR Yaris, and the GR Corolla. Now, the Japanese giant has an ace up its sleeve that will take on sports car racing.

The GR GT is Toyota Gazoo Racing’s new flagship model, serving as the basis for its GT3 racing program. Under its super long hood is a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine mated to a single electric motor, with a targeted combined output of 641hp and 850Nm of torque.

According to Toyota, its design lets aerodynamics and lightness do the talking. Its frame is constructed entirely from aluminum, and features primarily carbon fiber-reinforced plastic components. Its body lines effectively channel air through functional vents while maintaining the corporate design language.

That is precisely how the Japanese brand aims to present itself on the international motorsport stage. The GR GT3 will compete in several sports car racing series by 2027, including the Super GT, the GT World Challenge, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the World Endurance Championship.

Its racing counterpart ditches the battery motor, as per regulations, and keeps the twin-turbo V8 singing. Unlike its predecessor, which was based on the Lexus RC F, the difference in dimensions compared to the road-going version is minimal—sans the rear swan-neck wing—owing to its bespoke nature.

While interior and safety features weren’t highlighted, the performance-focused premiere shifted to Toyoda as he took center stage to answer why he wanted to build the GR GT in the first place.

Ever since the development of the Lexus LFA, he and chief test driver Hiromu Naruse felt a sense of humiliation when other motorsport arms stated: “No way that you guys at Toyota could build a car like [the competition]!”

“And that pain is definitely the force that drives me even now,” he said. “Naruse-san left me with the secret sauce for making cars—the sauce we made from our pain of humiliation. There was another thing that he left me, which was a few colleagues who shared that agony.”

The fruits of Morizo and his team’s labors will be evaluated once the Toyota GR GT hits showrooms and the racetrack by 2027. How long do you believe it will take for this to achieve the legendary status of a Japanese icon, alongside the likes of the Nissan Skyline GT-R, the Honda NSX, and the Lexus LFA?