Toyota looks set to introduce its next GR-tuned model at the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scheduled for June 10-11 in France. The sports car division of the Japanese automaker – Toyota Gazoo Racing – we were told “a concept car equipped with vehicle technologies that have been developed through the many challenges of racing sports will be on display.”
There’s also a teaser image accompanying the announcement, which shows the car’s front apron with four fog lights on each side of the prominent central air intake, reminiscent of racing headlights. endurance GR010 Hybrid. Other visible markings include the ‘GR’ badging on the aforementioned intakes, license plate holders (not needed on race cars), prominent front lip as well as the nose wings.
Toyota doesn’t tell us the identity of the car pictured, but the design of the front bumper looks almost identical to what you’ll find on Fifth generation Prius – note the pull-point covers and slots that form part of the upper inlet.
A Prius with the GR badging had been produced before when Toyota launched the GR Sport lineup in 2017, including the Prius PHV GR Sport plug-in hybrid that achieved a number of aesthetic enhancements as well as upgraded suspension and small chassis.
The new concept car unveiled by Toyota seems to be something more than a GR Sport model, and it’s possible we’ll get a preview of a GR Prius in the future. The most powerful version of the latest Prius is with a 2.0 liter plug-in hybrid powertrain provides a total system power of 223 PS (220 hp or 164 kW).
With the full GR treatment, we can see a significant increase in power along with the sportier styling revealed here. Currently, the GR lineup (excluding GR Sport models) includes GR Supra, Yaris GR, Corolla GR And GR86. We will only know if the Prius is a new 24-hour addition to Le Mans over the weekend next month.
LIBRARY: 2023 Toyota Prius PHEV
