- Toyota’s GR GT and GT3 debuted outside Tokyo Auto Salon.
- The twin-turbo V8 sounds refined but lacks LFA-style drama.
- The GT3 is louder and angrier than the street-focused GR GT.
Toyota’s new GR GT and its racing GT3 sibling look spectacular. They sit atop an already impressive performance lineup, and everything we know about them on paper sounds great. Up until now, we’ve only heard their exhaust notes in pre-recorded promotional films. Today, that’s changed, and the engine note sounds… perfectly acceptable.
More: Toyota Teases Fourth GR Model For America
The GR GT and GR GT3 are both at the Tokyo Auto Salon, and they’re showing off via burnouts, drag races, and donuts, as Road&Track reports. Visually, they’re everything fans hoped for. Long, low, and dramatic, the GR GT looks properly exotic in motion, especially with the race car’s swollen fenders and aggressive aero.
However, the sound they make seems somewhat middle-of-the-road as supercars go. Sure, they’re mean and aggressive, but they’re no Lexus LFA V10.
In one clip of the pair in some staged pulls, it’s honestly hard to hear the GR GT. The GT3 version is noticeably louder and a bit more gruff. Granted, making any turbocharged engine sound great at low RPM can be tough, and Toyota has done a good job of making each produce a low rumble. Honestly, they almost sound like American V8s to my ear.
In a separate clip of the two on a skid pad, the noises are a bit clearer and a bit easier to differentiate. Again, though, the GR GT feels almost muffled. No doubt, the turbos have something to do with that. Even under load, as the tires kick up smoke, it’s more subdued and technical than raucous.
Toyota may still be playing coy with final specs, but we already know the bones are solid. The frame combines carbon fiber and aluminum, the engine features a pair of turbos for the hybridized V8, and all of the 640-ish horsepower (477 kW) allegedly on offer is sent to the rear wheels only.
To Toyota’s credit, what we’re hearing in these latest clips isn’t unlike what Toyota already published back in December. That clip, however, made the mistake of pairing the GR GT with a Lexus LFA, and to put it simply, hearing the original Lexus V10 supercar didn’t do the Toyota any favors. That said, we’re stoked that Toyota is building cars like the GR GT, LFA, GR 86, and GR Corolla.