Which model will be modernized by the sports division of the Japanese company has not yet been announced. The list of contenders includes the RAV4 and Land Cruiser 300.
Toyota remains the largest automaker in the global market. Let us remind you that the total sales result of cars of brands owned by the corporation last year amounted to 11.23 million units, which is 7.2% more than in 2022. Of these, Toyota and Lexus models accounted for a total of 10.31 million units, an increase of 7.7%. The company has a division, Gazoo Racing (GR), which is engaged in the creation of sports cars and “charged” versions of Toyota models; in the future, this line will be replenished.
In the photo: Toyota Land Cruiser GR Sport (version for the Australian market)
The current GR range includes the Toyota GR86 and GR Supra sports cars, as well as a pair of hot hatches — the GR Yaris and GR Corolla. There are no SUV segment models on the list, however, “warmed up” versions with the addition of GR Sport to the name are currently available in such crossovers as Yaris Cross, Corolla Cross, C-HR, RAV4, as well as the Land Cruiser 300 SUV.
In the future, the Gazoo Racing division may take on a full-fledged GR version of the models, Toyota Gazoo Racing head Tomoya Takahashi told the Australian publication Car Expert. According to him, some customers want their car to be capable of a “sporty ride”, but at the same time they cannot get into the SUV segment, for example, because of the spaciousness of such cars.
In the photo: Toyota Corolla Cross HEV GR Sport (version for the Thai market)
So a “high-performance” crossover or SUV could be added to the Toyota GR lineup. True, he has not yet announced which model of the brand will receive a full-fledged “charged” version. It is possible that the GR modification will appear in those SUVs that have already received the GR Sport version. This means that the list of contenders may include the Toyota C-HR, RAV4 crossovers and the Land Cruiser 300 SUV.
It is obvious that the “hot” new product will receive an aggressively designed exterior, an upgraded suspension, and more powerful “filling”. According to preliminary data, if the choice is made in favor of the C-HR (it is based on the TNGA-C platform), its “charged” version will be equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine, the same engine that powers the current GR Yaris and GR Corolla; its output is 304 hp.
In the photo: Toyota C-HR HEV GR Sport
Other automakers have already have been offering “hot” versions of their crossovers for a long time. For example, Volkswagen has a version of the T-Roc R, Cupra offers the Formentor VZ5, Hyundai previously had the Kona N in its lineup, and now has the Ioniq 5 N cross-hatch, and Kia has the EV6 GT. In addition, representatives of the big German three – Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi produce performance versions of their SUVs.