Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher. These legendary Formula 1 racers had one thing in common: They all raced karts in their younger years.

Karting is one’s entry point to the world of motorsports. Even the newer F1 heroes like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, George Russell, and Kimi Antonelli started their racing careers by joining international karting races.

It would have been nice for the younger generation to have access to go-karts and cultivate future racing greats. Well, this is Morizo’s—or Toyota Motor Corporation chairman Akio Toyoda’s—vision. And his company is doing something special to make this a reality.

Introducing the Toyota GR Kart built by the Japanese automotive giant. As an entry-level kart, this is perfect for children with motorsport potential and can be shared by every family member.

The kart is 1,820mm long, 1,160mm wide, and 670mm tall, with a 1,045mm wheelbase. It weighs 83kg. This kart offers many features to make it easy to own and maintain.

This is so compact that it fits in the back of everyday vehicles like the Toyota Noah/Voxy, which is related to and similarly sized as the Innova Zenix. This way, you won’t need a dedicated transporter to bring it to racetracks.

The GR Kart also has an engine oil catch tank, a float-chamber-free diaphragm carburetor, and a unique fuel filler opening orientation, so you can store the kart upright without draining the engine oil and gasoline.

It comes with sliding pedals and a tiltable steering system, both adjustable at the touch of a button. It can accommodate kids (from 135cm) and adults (up to 185cm). This means one GR Kart is enough for a whole family to share.

It’s also easy to maintain as it uses a belt-drive system and an automatic tensioner that eliminates the need to periodically adjust belt tension. And since it uses drive belts, you wouldn’t have to worry about being soiled by lubricated drive chains.

The 215cc engine has a self-charging battery, so there’s no need to mount one. It also has a newly developed diaphragm carburetor without a float chamber. This minimizes fuel-level fluctuations caused by lateral g-forces during cornering. Finally, a primer pump ensures a steady fuel supply, making predeparture engine priming easier.

The kart includes safety features like a bumper design that keeps one kart from riding up the rear tire of another. Rear-hub stopper pins help prevent the rear hub from detaching.

The seats include a place to rest your hands so you can climb on and disembark without accidentally touching the hot muffler after use.

And at ¥385,000 (or just P157,000), you get a race-ready kart built with the same technology and assembly systems used in manufacturing Toyotas. This gives you the peace of mind and the reliability you expect from a Toyota.

You can buy this from select kart tracks in Japan and some GR Garage locations. Parts and accessories like toolboxes, helmets, racing overalls, shoes, and gloves are available via the Rakuten Ichiba e-commerce website.

But Toyota went beyond just selling these go-karts. Using the GR app, you will be guided from purchasing the GR Kart to driving it on various kart tracks, and to maintenance and repair services. There, you can obtain a driver’s passport, allowing you to race the kart at participating tracks. However, proper GR Kart races may necessitate a separate racing license.

It might be too much to ask, but perhaps Toyota Motor Philippines and Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippines can bring in the GR Kart here and start a similar program. What do you think?