It appears that Toyota is not going to launch affordable Gazoo Racing-branded parts for its cars in South Africa.
Gazoo Racing (GR) parts form the first of four tiers in the so-called GR Pyramid, which represents the various offerings within the Japanese automaker’s performance division.
Back in October 2022, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) confirmed to TopAuto that GR parts were under investigation for the domestic market.
It revealed that it was awaiting the arrival of several prototype GR body kits, whereupon it was to begin with trial fitments.
“No concrete decisions on parts line-up has been made as the above trial is the first step,” said TSAM at the time.
It didn’t reveal which vehicles were to be fitted with these GR components, nor what the parts comprised.
Since then, the manufacturer has released several GR-branded products, including the Hilux and Fortuner GR-Sport, as well as the fully fledged GR Corolla and updated GR Yaris.
It also unveiled the nation’s first GR dealership in Bryanston, Gauteng, as well as established the South African Gazoo Racing headquarters at the Zwartkops raceway.
However, it has kept mum on the potential rollout of GR Parts, the most attainable offering in the GR Pyramid.
TopAuto therefore reached out to TSAM once again to find out whether GR Parts are still in the pipeline for South Africa, but did not receive a response.
What is the GR Pyramid?
The GR Pyramid represents all the various products sold under the Gazoo Racing banner.
It comprises four tiers, namely:
- GR Parts
- GR-Sport cars
- GR cars
- GRMN cars
The first tier, GR Parts, allows customers to “inject their normal model variant with GR flavour,” said the company.
In essence, it lets owners of Toyota vehicles kit out their car with sporty-looking bits and pieces such as badges, skirts, mirror caps, spoilers, mufflers, nose cones, and strut braces.
While they do not necessarily improve the performance or handling of the vehicle all that much, they do lend owners the opportunity to personalise their car to their own taste with original parts.
The next tier many South Africans will already be familiar with.
GR-Sport vehicles kick it up a notch as they get certain “dynamic handling enhancements” in addition to more aggressive cosmetics compared to the standard models.
For instance, the Corolla Cross GR-Sport boasts unique shock absorbers, revised coil springs, and a recalibrated power-steering module, which makes it more competent around corners than its namesakes.
In some cases, like with the GR-Sport variants of the Hilux and Fortuner, they may even see a small bump in power.
Tier three of the GR Pyramid is for pure-blooded GR cars such as the GR 86, GR Corolla, GR Supra, and GR Yaris.
These high-performance variants are different from their standard counterparts in just about every which way but name, including separate engines, reworked underpinnings, and aggressive bodywork.
Nameplates like the 86 and Supra were built from the ground up as GR cars aimed at enthusiasts, and do not even have more traditional non-GR siblings.
The pinnacle of the GR Pyramid is GRMN cars, short for Gazoo Racing tuned by Masters of Nurburgring.
Thus far Toyota has only produced a GRMN version of the Yaris, and what a creation it is.
Toyota took the already hot hatch and threw sensibility out the window along with the backseats, resulting in a total weight savings of 20kg.
The width was also increased by 10mm, the height reduced by 10mm, and sporty Recaro bucket seats were installed.
Moreover, the Yaris was on the receiving end of a lightweight carbon-fibre-reinforced-plastic roof, bonnet, and boot spoiler.
The hatch was sold in a limited run of 500 units and was only available in Japan, though rumour has it a few examples made their ways to other markets.
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