Toyota is traditionally known for their reliability, but in the past few years, they’ve also become an enthusiast’s best friend, bringing out exciting sports cars such as the GR Supra, GR86, GR Yaris, and GR Corolla. The exciting turnaround for Toyota was thanks to its outgoing President and CEO, Akio Toyoda, who proclaimed “no more boring cars” back in 2017, kickstarting the inception of the Gazoo Racing brand.
When news first broke that Toyoda is stepping aside from the role, enthusiasts around the globe were understandably worried – “Does that mean the end of GR?” As it turns out, there’s no need for despair – incoming CEO Koji Sato has confirmed that the GR brand will indeed still be around under his leadership.
And it’s not just that; Sato also hinted that the company could be speeding up development of new GR Sports cars, joking that his predecessor – whose official job titles in Toyota also included “Master Driver” – will now have more time to develop them.
“The Gazoo brand will be acknowledged for the future – and maybe we can even speed it up. Our Master Driver was also president of the company at the same time as he had a steering wheel in his hand for Gazoo. Now he is only chairman, maybe he will have a lot more time to develop cars for them?” Sato said in his first UK interview since taking the job.
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While the company hasn’t revealed its future plans for the Gazoo Racing brand, one of the possibilities that Sato might be hinting at could be the GR-ified Toyota bZ4X, as Toyota has previously said that it’s considering a sportier version of the electric crossover.
The company has also previously shown-off a compact, two-seater electric sports car concept with the GR emblem, which – if made into a production model – could rival the likes of the upcoming Porsche 718 EV. Exciting times ahead for the Gazoo Racing brand, and there’s no need to worry.
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