Oftentimes, automotive manufacturers involved in motorsports blend their racing and road car departments for various reasons, whether it be developing future technologies, building top-shelf production cars, or financing one another. Such has been the case with Toyota for over a decade with its current high-performance division: Toyota Gazoo Racing, often simply abbreviated to “TGR,” or simply Gazoo Racing (GR) for short.
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There are currently four road vehicles produced by Toyota that bear the distinctive black, red, and white GR badge: the GR Corolla, GR Supra, GR Yaris (not available in North America), and GR86. These vehicles, distinctly separate from TRD (Toyota Racing Division) models, represent some of the fastest-production Toyotas, built to cater specifically to the driving enthusiast market. As such, these vehicles all feature high-output engines, available or standard-equipped manual transmissions, lightweight and stiffened chassis and running gear, and so on. Each car is either built to honor a long-standing heritage in spirited motoring, such as the Supra or GR86, or built as a direct extension of Gazoo Racing’s motorsports division, as is the case with the GR Yaris.
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Toyota Gazoo Racing is a relatively recent evolution of Toyota’s motorsports arm, which itself dates back over 60 years and features multiple ongoing series, such as the Toyota GR Cup spec championship. The company itself has a somewhat complicated background, but it’s a story that is inexorably linked to each road car Toyota produces with the “GR” badge.
A company history thoroughly rooted in motorsport
The “Gazoo” name sounds more like a musical instrument than a motorsports division, but it actually refers to “Garage,” which Toyota uses in reference to the intimate space of such a setting. It’s actually a Japanese word – 画像 (spelled Gazō), literally translating to “image” or “portrait,” a name Toyota used on GAZOO.com by Toyota to promote its racing activities. Its first exposure to the wider public dates back to 2007, when GAZOO.com went racing at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring with a pair of heavily modified used Toyota Altezzas.
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Gazoo Racing technically wasn’t an official Toyota project at first, but the automotive giant grew more heavily involved during the development cycle of the Lexus LFA. The V10-powered supercar underwent two years of rigorous testing through endurance racing before the first car ever hit the streets. Spurred on by changes in management, with Toyota’s vice president and avid racing driver Akio Toyoda taking the role of chairman in 2009, Gazoo Racing quickly expanded its company interests to road car development as well as disciplines outside of endurance racing. Under the Gazoo Racing banner, Toyota returned to the World Rally Championship after a 17-year hiatus, as well as fielding cars in Dakar among others.
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Often cited as “saving” Toyota, Gazoo Racing did far more than just win races. For instance, the company’s 2012 TS030 endurance race car greatly contributed to Toyota’s advances in hybrid engine technology. By 2019, the company released the first official dedicated “GR” car, the GR Supra, beginning the most recent chapter in Gazoo Racing history and inexorably tying Toyota’s road car and racing development programs together once again.
