Toyota Supra to be launched in 2019 under Gazoo performance brand GR / GRMN related topics

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FRS-Man

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What a crazy report out of Autocar! You guys believe any of this??

Toyota Supra to be launched under Gazoo performance brand

Toyota will launch its 2018 Supra under the name of its newly launched road performance arm, Gazoo.

The boss of Gazoo Racing, Koei Saga, told Autocar at the Monte Carlo Rally, where Toyota was fielding its new Yaris WRC cars, that producing such a halo hybrid model was a 'dream' of his. He also suggested that Gazoo’s road car team was already making use of the brand’s racing hybrid powertrain technology.

Saga refrained from revealing what Gazoo’s range-topping model would be, but earlier inside information has suggested that the Supra was already planned to be launched under the Gazoo monker. Whether or not this will be as the Gazoo Supra or Toyota Supra Gazoo isn't yet known.

Saga suggested that more hybrid Gazoo models were on the cards in the future by emphasising the importance of hybrid powertrains to his division. He cited Gazoo Racing’s hybrid motorsport models, which include its World Endurance Championship LMP1 racer and hybrid-V8 Prius that competes in Japan’s Super GT 300 class.

The first production Gazoo model to be sold in Europe will be a hot version of the Yaris hatchback. Set to be revealed at the Geneva motor show in March, it is expected to have a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine that’ll produce more than 210bhp. The car will be available as a three-door only.

Saga hinted that a plan to launch more roadgoing Gazoo models in Europe after this was already in place. When asked if he wanted a full range of Gazoo models to be produced for the market, he said “of course”.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/toyota-supra-be-launched-under-gazoo-performance-brand
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jm6k

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You guys believe any of this??
Nope.

Maybe I missed a memo somewhere, but as far as I know Gazoo isn't a brand of Toyota Motor Sales in the sense that say Scion was. Nor is it really a newly launched performance arm... again, unless I missed something and there is some newly launched brand. Toyota has been selling GRMN modified cars in Japan for a few years at least, similar to how SVT has been a performance branch of Ford that modifies existing cars. I don't expect GRMN/Gazoo Racing to have a vehicle entirely under their umbrella. I would expect them to sell a modified Supra (in Japan) under the GRMN name, and I'd expect it to be very expensive (the GRMN 86 is $50k+).

I vote extremely unlikely.
 

gymratter

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i don't like the sound of Gazoo Supra. Dodge tired it with the SRT Viper but than later changed it back to Dodge Viper.
 

Supra93

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IMO, they should just stick to "Toyota Supra". And seeing how they just killed off Scion I don't think Toyota is going to start another new brand. Now Gazoo could be added to a high performance trim level like with the Mercedes C63 AMG.
 

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Toyota has taken into consideration the impact that high end cars and performance divisions have on the status of automakers after a decade of absence.
Like NISSAN and nismo, with cars ranging from the small Note to the ultimate GT-R, Toyota is aiming to do the same.
Toyota's racing arm back in the 90's was TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and since 2015 Gazoo Racing is the united motorsports division with presence in WRC, WEC, Japanese GT Championship and other activities.
Recently they presented the GRMN FR Sports Concept and are trying to enter in production models in the form of performance parts and accessories and even go a step further with cars coming out of the production line labeled GR-branded like AMG, M Division, nismo etc...
We shall wait and see...
 

jm6k

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Toyota has taken into consideration the impact that high end cars and performance divisions have on the status of automakers after a decade of absence.
Like NISSAN and nismo, with cars ranging from the small Note to the ultimate GT-R, Toyota is aiming to do the same.
Toyota's racing arm back in the 90's was TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and since 2015 Gazoo Racing is the united motorsports division with presence in WRC, WEC, Japanese GT Championship and other activities.
Recently they presented the GRMN FR Sports Concept and are trying to enter in production models in the form of performance parts and accessories and even go a step further with cars coming out of the production line labeled GR-branded like AMG, M Division, nismo etc...
We shall wait and see...
They've already sold several GRMN branded cars in Japan, but yeah I think your right about the future plans for Gazoo. The article seems a little misleading - "Toyota will launch its 2018 Supra under the name of its newly launched road performance arm, Gazoo." - sounds like they're saying that the Supra will be a Gazoo Supra, but what Gazoo is actually saying is that there will be a Toyota Supra GRMN. I can't see why the performance brand of Toyota wouldn't create a version of Toyota's performance car, so yeah, this should be expected. I don't know if we should expect it in the US though. TRD still has a strong hold over here thanks to trucks and Nascar. Maybe GRMN could become a thing though for the SFR, 86, and Supra.
 

Mike

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Revealed just now as Yaris GRMN.
GR dash meters, center exhaust, diffuser, aero, brakes and more....
I think the Supra will debut like this as well...


 

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oh man I couldn't make through the whole video
 

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https://www.motor1.com/news/178117/toyota-sports-car-series/

Toyota To Announce Sports Car Lineup In September

The new Supra will likely be at the forefront of the performance series.

In an event scheduled to be organized sometime next month, Toyota will talk about what it describes as being a “new sports car series,” thus suggesting other hot models are in the pipeline beyond the reborn Supra. While the company did not wish to go into any specific details, it did say the event will mainly target the domestic market Japan. We will have to wait and see whether the new products will be sold exclusively in the Land of the Rising Sun or these will have greater availability further down the line.

Current models with sporty credentials include the 86 and the new Yaris GRMN, a hot hatch available exclusively with three doors, though spy shots have shown a more practical five-door version could be on its way. Offered in limited numbers, the hot hatch is derived from the company’s WRC program and uses a supercharged 1.8-liter engine with 205 horsepower channeled to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

An MR2 successor could also be in the works as hinted by Gazoo Racing chief Tetsuya Tada earlier this year. This potential reboot might take after the S-FR concepts from 2015 and 2016 pictured here, though this is purely speculation at this point.

Let’s hope the event programmed for September will be more than just about the announcement of a sports car lineup as we would like to see a car as well. Introducing the Supra revival could really draw the crowds, though the car will allegedly be unveiled at the end of October during the Tokyo Motor Show based on a recent report. Perhaps the performance coupe will at least be previewed next month?

Regardless, it seems Toyota is getting serious about introducing a family of sports cars or at least it wants to come out with its equivalent to Lexus' F series.
 

2JZ-No-Sh*t

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Performance line for Toyota brand?

New 'sports car' division may take after Lexus' F series

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. plans to unveil a "sports car" line that likely will be the Toyota-brand equivalent of Lexus' high-performance F series.

It is unclear whether the new products will be offered outside Japan.

Toyota plans to announce what it calls a "new sports car series" at an event next month here. That unveiling is geared toward Japan, and a company spokesman declined to offer more details about the event or products.

Toyota offers a Toyota Racing Development performance line under its Toyota brand in North America.

The move comes as Toyota tries to develop a reputation for cars that are emotional and aspirational, rather than simply reliable and utilitarian.

A new line of sports cars also arrives ahead of an expected successor to the Toyota Supra, one of the brand's most storied sports cars. That two-door coupe could debut as early as next year.

This month, Toyota reorganized development of sports cars under the Gazoo Racing Co., an internal unit dedicated to global motorsports.

Earlier in the year, Toyota said it would strengthen its lineup of GRMN offerings, which are specially tuned sporty editions of Toyota-brand production cars.

GRMN originally stood for Gazoo Racing tuned by the Meister of Nurburgring, an homage to Toyota Motor Corp.'s long-standing participation in grueling 24-hour German endurance race.

This year at the Geneva auto show, Toyota introduced a supercharged GRMN version of its Yaris subcompact as its entry into the hot hatch segment.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20170827/OEM04/170829805/toyota-performance-line
 

CSUfiend

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If this is true.. then I wonder if we may be 3 years away from the ultimate Supra. Remember, other than the RC-F, the Lexus F-cars all came out years after their more basic models which are meant to be their volume setters.
 

Supraman

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If this is true.. then I wonder if we may be 3 years away from the ultimate Supra. Remember, other than the RC-F, the Lexus F-cars all came out years after their more basic models which are meant to be their volume setters.
I think we'll still get a top performance model right away. But I agree they may have a GRMN edition a few years down the road. Sort of like the GT-R and the Nismo edition.
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