2026 Toyota GR GT Debuts With 4.0 Twin-Turbo Hybrid V8

This is it, ladies and gentlemen, the 2026 Toyota GR GT, the Japanese automaker’s newest front-engined V-8 sports car that is positioned as its halo car. This also marks the first vehicle from Gazoo Racing standing as a sub-brand, because, as you’ll notice, the GR GT doesn’t feature any Toyota logos.

The GR GT is positioned as a sports car that follows the footsteps of the Toyota 2000GT and also the Lexus LFA. Toyota says that the GR GT passes on the “secret sauce of car-making” to the next generation as “Toyota’s Shikinen Sengu^*“. The GR GT, along with the GR GT3 racecar, is the result of all the lessons learned from the engineers of the LFA eventually being transferred to the younger development team of the GR GT.

And that is immediately evident from the GR GT’s design. At 1,195 mm in height, it isn’t very tall–lower even than the GR86’s height of 1,310 mm–and yet with a length of 4,820 mm and a width of 2,000 mm, the GR GT is long, low, and wide. Those sultry proportions are matched by aggressive lines. Toyota is proud to highlight that the GR GT uses a reverse approach to car design. That’s because rather than putting aesthetics first, the GR GT’s design elements were considered out of aerodynamic factors first, with beauty being a second priority.

This begins with the front fascia. A black trim piece visually connects the slim LED headlights, while the lower air intakes have large functional vents that channel air to the five twin-spoke wheels. Air from the front end then exits through the fender vents.

There’s also a vent at the hood, which cools the engine and draws the warmer air out through the vents near the windshield. Lastly, there’s a small scoop on the GR GT’s rear haunches, just above the rear wheel arches. The result is a vehicle that is as aggressive as it is aerodynamically styled by science to cut through the air at more than 320 kph.

As for the interior, the GR GT prioritizes a great deal of driver control above all else. From that philosophy, the horizontal dash design contains a simplistic layout that’s bathed in red leather and Alcantara. You can see a digital gauge cluster, a large infotainment screen, and a good amount of physical knobs and buttons.

Now, onto the more meaty details, the GR GT is the first vehicle made by Toyota to feature an all-aluminum chassis, which has a high level of rigidity relative to its weight. The GR GT’s body panels also use aluminum and carbon fiber components for additional weight-saving measures.

Those wheels are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires that are bespoke to the GR GT, while the suspension features a low-mounted, double-wishbone system with forged aluminum arms at the front and rear. Speaking of the suspension, the basic suspension and chassis components are shared with the GR GT3 racecar, further proof that this vehicle has been honed to be a racecar first. Finally, Brembo carbon brakes and brake calipers are there to ensure optimum stopping power, while the vehicle stability control features multi-stage adjustment to match the driver’s skill.

Even the engine is all-new for Toyota, as the GR GT uses a new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with a dry-sump lubrication, a rear-mounted transaxle for a 45:55 weight-distribution, and yes, this is also a parallel hybrid system. That rear transaxle uses a carbon fiber torque tube, and that is where the new eight-speed automatic with the motor-generator for the hybrid system is integrated. As these are still pre-production prototypes, the power figures aren’t final, but Toyota is aiming for 641 horsepower and 850 Nm of torque.

What Toyota is also aiming with the GR GT’s hybrid V8 is for it to have a distinctive racing sound. Sound development was centered on two pillars: creating sound that enables interaction with the car and creating sound that conveys changes in thermal energy. The structure of the exhaust pipe has been meticulously crafted to produce sound that synchronizes with the state of the vehicle.

For now, Toyota has not yet announced when the GR GT will go on sale, especially since development of this vehicle is still underway. We suspect that deliveries are set to begin in 2027.