The Toyota GR GT is promoted as a street-legal iteration of the GR GT3 race car, and in many ways, it genuinely fits that description.
On Friday at Fuji Speedway, The Drive had the opportunity to compare the new Toyota GR GT with the GR GT3 side by side. The similarities in design are surprisingly plentiful.
This aligns with GR GT Project Manager Takashi Doi’s remarks to the press on Thursday, where he stated that both the road car and the GT3 race car were developed simultaneously from the outset. However, the GR GT3 is derived from the GR GT street vehicle, necessitating that the team determine how to effectively share and leverage as many common parts as practicable, as explained by Doi.
The aluminum chassis is identical for both cars. The design elements are also shared.
The body panels all share fundamental designs extending even to most aerodynamic characteristics.
The shapes of the front grilles are identical, although the race variant has a slightly more open, mesh-filled section compared to the street model. The hoods show minor differences, featuring a large air extraction point at the front of the race hood to release heat from the radiators. The street model incorporates a mail-slot intake allowing air under the hood and extraction over the heated turbo setup.
The front fenders of the GR GT3 include louvers that allow air to escape from the fender wells, a feature absent in the current street model. Both cars have a sizable air extraction point located behind the front wheel, with the race model equipped with side-exit exhaust right beneath this extraction area. Unfortunately, the street version lacks side-exit exhaust.
Both variants share similar shoulder lines along the door sides to direct air into rear fender-mounted intakes for cooling the back ends. For the street car, this airflow assists in cooling the transaxle, whereas in the race model, it cools the transmission—details about which Toyota has not yet provided.
Both vehicles feature similar ducktail spoilers on the rear deck, yet the GT3 race model adds a larger spoiler mounted on stanchions affixed to the chassis.
The shapes of the rear bumpers are alike, and the lower diffusers at the back share curvature, although the street car includes a quad-exhaust setup exiting the rear.
The forms, body panels, and aerodynamic features are remarkably close between the two, with both cars having an impressively low stance. It remains to be seen how much of the GT3 race car’s enhanced aerodynamics and design will influence a more powerful GR GT down the line, but the groundwork is already being refined on the track.
Toyota covered travel, accommodations, and sushi that I definitely passed on to bring you this firsthand account.
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