It appears that the all-new fifth-generation Toyota Prius will soon be getting its own high-performance Gazoo Racing makeover soon – or at least, in concept form.
Toyota has teased a new concept car due to be unveiled next week at the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, said to be “equipped with vehicle technologies that have been developed through numerous challenges in motorsports participation”. While they stopped short of naming the car, the masked car in the teaser photo does closely resemble the all-new fifth-generation Toyota Prius.
Details are obviously scarce right now, but the teaser image does suggest a big visual overhaul for the hybrid model, including a GR-ified rectangular front lower grille, plus motorsports-inspired quad (daytime-running?) lights on the corners.
As for the “vehicle technologies” in the teaser, the GR Prius is likely to become Toyota’s first high performance hybrid model, with an upgraded hybrid system based on the marque’s learnings in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) series, where Toyota fields its GR010 Hybrid in the Hypercar class.
It’s unclear whether the Toyota GR Prius will ever reach showrooms, or it will remain just as a concept. Recent rumours suggest that the Toyota GR86 will transition to a hybrid powertrain based on the 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder mill of the GR Yaris.
In that case, the Toyota GR Prius here could act solely as a test bed for the development of the new hybrid powertrain. Although, we’re sure Toyota will be happy to sell it if there’s enough demand from its customers…
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