New Models / 19 February 2026 / Warren Hawkins

Toyota adds Gazoo Racing supercar to South African line-up – Details

Toyota has confirmed that it will be bringing two supercars to the local market, namely the GR GT and the GR GT3.

These two models were teased at the end of last year, with Toyota unveiling the prototypes for these two models, but last week, they were confirmed for a local launch sometime next year.

Both were developed by the Gazoo Racing division at Toyota, and will feature new technologies that have never been used in a Toyota production vehicle before.

Toyota is aiming to make these two supercars the face of its GR performance line-up, drawing inspiration from past models ike the Toyota 2000GT and the Lexus LFA.

Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota South Africa, said the brand is excited to be building high-performance cars linked to new energy vehicles (NEVs).

“Our plan is to bring these vehicles in next year; we’ll probably be bringing ten or fourteen,” he confirmed.

Theron added that Toyota will be looking to bring the GT road version first, before it considers introducing the GT3 track version.

He did not confirm pricing for these models, but did allude to them being “super expensive”.

“It will be very bespoke; these vehicles will not be delivered at a dealer, so we are going to have a different strategy on how we manage this small volume.”

What we know right now

When it was unveiled by Toyota at the Japan Mobility Show last year, the GT was confirmed to be a road-legal race car.

As such, it will feature an all-aluminium body frame to minimise weight, and be powered by an all-new 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol engine, paired with a single electric motor and a rear transaxle in a hybrid configuration.

Its impressive power output of over 475kW and 850Nm was confirmed at the Japanese brand’s State of the Motor Industry event, as was its top speed of more than 320km/h.

Toyota confirmed the GT and GT3 will feature a compact “hot-V” layout, with turbos mounted between the cylinder banks, with dry-sump lubrication to reduce the height of the engine.

Power is sent to its back wheels via a CFRP torque tube and an eight-speed automatic transmission with a wet-start clutch. Both models also feature paddle shifters and special Brembo carbon ceramic brakes.

During its initial unveiling, Toyota said its specialists, including members of the World Endurance Championship programme, crafted an “ideal aerodynamic form” before the designers could begin shaping the panels.

The resulting form is a low-slung body with purpose-designed intakes, expansive cooling channels, and a rear section which has been optimised for high-speed stability.

Special tyres, developed by Michelin exclusively for these models, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2, were tested extensively in simulated and real-world track sessions.

On the inside, Toyota continued with its functional design approach to create a driver-focused cockpit.

Critical driving switches are mounted close to the steering wheel, while information displays have been optimised for quick recognition at high speed.

Toyota also refined the driving position with the input of both racing professionals and gentleman drivers.

The Japanese automaker explained that although the GT was developed with motorsport in mind, it is still suitable for everyday use.

Its pure racing sibling, the GT3, has been built to FIA specifications, making it eligible for the elite global category for customer racing.