- Toyota will start building go-karts in Japan starting later this year.
- They’ll cost around $2,500 and be far cheaper than rival imports.
- Karts aim to create a new generation of racers and car enthusiasts.
Toyota has played around with oddball ideas in the past including a hybrid-powered side-by-side that revived the Scion name. However, their latest effort reportedly involves go-karts.
According to reports out of Japan, Toyota will establish a GR kart factory in the Aichi prefecture. Production is scheduled to begin by fall and the company expects to build between 1,000 and 2,000 units annually.
More: Toyota Stepped Away So GR Could Grow Into Something Bigger Than Toyota
Nikkei reports they’ll be built to order and priced in the “upper ¥300,000 range.” While that suggests customers will need to shell out around $2,500 at current exchange rates, the publication noted that’s about a “quarter of what foreign-made models cost.”
That alone should make them appealing and the company will reportedly be able to keep prices low by utilizing “automobile production technologies and lower-priced materials.” Low costs are important as Toyota wants the go-karts to create a new generation of car enthusiasts.
The karts could also encourage more kids to get into motorsports. Nikkei said the number of kart licenses used for racing has plummeted from 9,730 in 1995 to 3,250 last year. That’s a 66% decline in three decades and it’s something Toyota wants to reverse.
We can expect to learn more details closer to launch, but the publication said the vehicles will be sold at GR dealers as well as go-kart tracks. The company is also said to be considering sales outside of Japan.
The automaker doesn’t appear to have released official pictures of the karts, but an image taken by Nikkei implies the model could be called the GR TG-RR. We can also see plastic body panels, a single seat, and a minimalist flat-bottom steering wheel. They’re joined by side mirrors and tiny golden wheels.
