Lexus is set to launch a new V8-engined supercar as a rival to the likes of the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT and a spiritual successor to the legendary LFA.
Parent company Toyota’s hardcore GT3 GR concept car, revealed in 2022, has now evolved into a prototype that has been spotted running at Spa-Francorchamps, and its Gazoo Racing motorsport division is expected to have it ready for top-flight competition – including the Le Mans 24 Hours – in 2026.
FIA homologation rules dictate that any GT3 racer shares its basic body design with a related road car, so a toned-down version of the GT3 GR is expected in showrooms within the next two years.
Toyota has previously said that it would continue “commercialising motorsports cars rather than simply adapting production vehicles for use in motorsports”, as it did with the rally-honed GR Yaris hot hatchback.
The road-going GT3 GR is likely to wear a Lexus badge, rather than a Toyota one, in keeping with the premium brand’s history of large-engined sports cars, including the LFA, LC 500 and RC F.
The prototype’s soundtrack is unmistakably that of a highly strung V8 (which reportedly breathes through two turbos) and the road car – possibly called LFR – is expected to share that unit but with the addition of hybrid assistance.
No specifications of the racer have yet been released, but the GT3 regulations are relatively flexible, with cars producing roughly 500-600bhp and weighing no more than 1300kg. Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche all currently sell GT3 customer cars.
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As good as Lexus is (they're probably the best engineered mass-produced passenger vehicles), this isn't going to weigh under 1,300kg :-(
So what was the Lexus LMGT3 V8 running at Le Mans yesterday? Just asking.