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TOYOTA GAZOO Racing premieres GRMN Yaris and GT3 Concept in Japan
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) revealed at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 today the motorsport bred GR GT3 Concept and GRMN* Yaris.
TGR is committed to accelerating customer motorsport activities, including promoting driver first car development, with a desire to provide cars that customers participating in motorsports would find attractive.
The GR GT3 Concept is aimed at more experienced customers participating in GT3 events, the pinnacle of customer motorsports.
“The GT3 concept vehicle is an exciting step forward for TGR product,” says Andrew Davis, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand General Manager.
“As we have seen with the success of the Toyota 86 championship in New Zealand and the release of the GR Yaris , customers who race on the weekends want a car that can challenge their driving skills and is ultimately fun to drive. The GT3 race class provides a higher level of performance and is continuing to gain momentum in New Zealand motorsport, so we are excited to see this concept be revealed.”
As was the case with the GR Yaris, by commercialising motorsports cars rather than simply adapting production vehicles for use in motorsports, TGR intends to use feedback and technologies refined through participation in various motorsports activities to develop both GT3 and mass-production cars and further promote ever-better motorsports-bred cars.
TGR also revealed the GRMN Yaris, a 500-unit limited edition for the Japanese market, that is a fully tuned model of the GR Yaris which will build on the success of the GR Yaris globally. The GRMN Yaris adds a new program that will deliver to customers the type of daily vehicle evolution and driver-tailored customisation that takes place in motorsports.
“The GRMN Yaris will offer Japanese customers the enjoyment of race-car like continuous improvement by achieving real-time car evolution for each race through an update program. It will be interesting to see how the concept goes in Japan and how we may be able to apply any learnings into other motorsport activity both globally and locally,” says Andrew.
Since its launch in September of 2020, the GR Yaris has been involved in various motorsports, such as the Super Taikyu Series where President Toyoda got behind the wheel as Morizo and participated with ROOKIE Racing, and the Japanese Rally Championship, where it won the season championship.
The GR Yaris has been refined through driver-first car manufacturing. Issues under extreme use conditions are identified through driver feedback and quickly resolved. Each car can be tailored to the driver to evolve into a safe and easy-to-drive vehicle.
The development of the GRMN Yaris began from President Akio Toyoda’s desire to “deliver cars to customers that evolve quickly and can be tailored to individuals like in the field of motorsports.”
GRMN Yaris Specification for the Japanese Market*2
Based on the GR Yaris, the GRMN Yaris has achieved the ultimate in lightweight sports AWD by applying a wide range of technologies and parts developed through motorsports to focus on weight reduction and enhanced body rigidity.
It features a close-ratio gear transmission and a low final gear set that has been refined in the field of motorsports. For gear ratios, close-ratio 1st to 4th gears makes efficient use of the engine power band, and low final gears for optimised driving force have been combined. To improve reliability during endurance races and other situations, SNCM material was used and shot processing was added to 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and final gears, significantly improving shock torque and fatigue strength.
In addition to the lightweight high-rigidity carbon (twill weave CFRP) used for the hood, roof, and rear spoiler, removing the rear seats to make it a two-person car, has achieved weight reduction of approximately 20 kg*3 compared to the GR Yaris.
The number of spot welds has increased by 545*3 compared to the GR Yaris, and body rigidity has been further enhanced by applying 12-m*3 longer structural adhesive. This contributes to a significant improvement in circuit times.
As with the GR Yaris, production will be carried out on a dedicated production line at Toyota’s Motomachi Plant, and plans are for assembly to be carried out by takumi (master craftsperson) team members.
* GRMN stands for GAZOO Racing tuned by “Meister of Nürburgring
*2 The above is global information, and no local information is available at this time.
*3 Comparison to the GR Yaris RZ High Performance