Gazoo Racing to become the fifth brand under Toyota’s umbrella, alongside Lexus, Daihatsu, Century and Toyota itself.
The current slate of hot GR-badged Toyotas may soon, technically speaking, no longer be Toyotas at all. Not that they are going anywhere of course, as the big T is instead spinning off its Gazoo Racing division into a standalone sub-brand of its own.
Yes, in what is increasingly becoming the trend these days, Toyota has announced that Gazoo Racing will now operate as a distinct entity within its corporate structure. GR will sit above the core Toyota brand and entry-level Daihatsu, but below Lexus and the newly established ultra-luxury Century marque.
Now this move has not exactly been a well-kept secret, especially with the recently unveiled GR GT concept that debuted just a month ago notably featured no Toyota badges whatsoever after all. The upcoming V8-powered supercar is also expected to be sold not through Toyota showrooms, but via select Lexus dealerships instead.
Looking ahead too, there are big things in store for the fledgling GR brand. The GR GT is widely expected to be joined by a spiritual successor to the MR2, while next-generation versions of the Supra and GR86 are also likely to form the backbone of the performance lineup. There are even persistent whispers of a Celica revival, and those with an eye on electrification may want to watch closely for a production version of the striking FT-Se concept.
In any case though, good ol’ Toyota still has at least some penchant for the good ol’ jungle juice. The GR GT has already been confirmed to feature a bespoke twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, while lower-tier GR models are expected to also adopt a new four-cylinder engine that is already being rumoured to produce well north of 400 horsepower.
Just to end on a fun note here, the name “Gazoo” comes from the Japanese word for “image” and was originally used for a portal site Toyota helped launch. And adding a slight touch of irony to the rebranding timing, this Gazoo Racing spin-off announcement incidentally comes just days after the Haas F1 team announced a major title sponsorship deal prominently featuring the Toyota Gazoo Racing name.
Though on the motorsport front, Toyota is actually also currently streamlining its global racing operations alongside this brand restructuring. Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe will be renamed Toyota Racing, which will serve as the banner under which the company runs its factory-backed endurance racing efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Gazoo Racing, meanwhile, will continue to focus on rallying activities and customer racing programmes, neatly separating Toyota’s competition efforts by discipline.
