GAZOO Racing gave a thrilling taste of its sports car engineering with high-speed demonstrations by the upcoming GR GT and GR GT3* at the Goodwood Festival of Speed at the weekend. They were joined by the Lexus LFA Concept*, which delighted the crowds with a surprise appearance on the festival’s hill climb – its dynamic world premiere.

More than 200,000 fans enjoyed the speed, sound and precise handling of the GR GT and GR GT3 over the four days of the festival, an annual celebration of sporting style and performance held in the grounds of Goodwood House in the south of England.

Having appeared a year ago with bodywork heavily camouflaged, the GR cars were presented undisguised in the Supercar Paddock, alongside the Lexus LFA Concept, so visitors could admire up close the fine details of their design.

Together, they represent the latest evolution of the finest sports car design and engineering, with roots that can be traced back to past legends such as the Toyota 2000GT and Lexus LFA. Born from great motor sport rivalry, they have been crafted with the benefit of feedback gained on the some of the world’s most challenging circuits.

The trio further signalled Toyota’s multipath approach to powertrain development, across a spectrum from road-going and circuit-tuned hybrid systems to ultra-high-performance battery electric technology.

The GR GT is a track-inspired road car with racing DNA, powered by a new 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine paired with a single-motor hybrid system. In addition to high power and torque for exceptional performance, the car’s development focused on achieving a low centre of gravity, low weight with high rigidity, and aerodynamic performance.

The GR GT3 shares the GR GT’s core elements but is a track-focused race car, engineered to be highly competitive and deliver accessible performance.

The Lexus LFA Concept is Lexus’ vision for a next-generation electric sports car. It shares technologies and qualities with the GR GT and GR GT3, blending advanced performance with emotional appeal and invoking the spirit of the original V10-powered LFA.

It made its world-first public demonstration speed drives at the festival, leading the GR GT and GR GT3 in a powerful trinity of new machines that opened the supercar action on the Goodwood hill climb. A distinguished team of drivers was on hand to give spectators a taste of the cars’ capabilities. It included Elfyn Evans from TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) ; TOYOTA RACING Vice-Chairman Kazuki Nakajima ; one of the GR GT, GT3 and Lexus LFA Concept development driver Hiroaki Ishiura ; four-time Super GT Champion Sho Tsuboi and Super GT racing driver Yuichi Nakayama and German racing driver and Nürburgring specialist Uwe Kleen.

There was also strong representation from GAZOO Racing’s international motorsport activities, led by the GR YARIS Rally1, the car which has dominated the FIA World Rally Championship so far this year. Its performance was demonstrated to great effect by the drivers who know it best: TGR-WRT’s teammates Elfyn Evans, Takamato Katsuta and Oliver Solberg were all seen in action on the hill climb and rally stage. The rugged, race-winning qualities of the DKR GR Hilux in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship were also displayed, with four-time South African champion Henk Lategan at the wheel.

TOYOTA RACING’s recent Le Mans 24 Hours victory and current leadership in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s driver and manufacturer standings were celebrated with the winning #7 TR010 HYBRID.

Toyota is committed to using the experience, technical skills and insights gained in top-level motorsport to develop ever-better cars for the road. The festival was given a prime example of this philosophy in action by the new GR Yaris Aero Performance. This latest development of the multi-award-winning performance hatchback was included in the “First Glance” category, together with the new RAV4 GR Sport, a version of the plug-in hybrid SUV that has GR-themed styling details inside and out and benefits from a sports-tuned chassis.

The all-new, all-electric Hilux BEV pick-up was also featured at Goodwood. As well as serving as an official support vehicle, it also demonstrated its authentic off-road capabilities, driven on the rally stage by Henk Lategan.

*The GR GT, GR GT3 and Lexus LFA Concept cars taking part in the festival were prototype/development vehicles.

Born from motorsport rivalry and shaped by uncompromising feedback from the world’s most demanding circuits, the GR GT and GR GT3 embody GAZOO Racing’s philosophy of learning through competition. The Lexus LFA Concept builds on competition-honed insights and technologies, translating them into values that resonate directly with driver in an immersive, multi-sensory experience in which man and machine can feel as one.

They follow a bloodline established by past icons such as the Toyota 2000GT and Lexus LFA, reflecting the belief of Chairman Akio Toyoda, aka Master Driver Morizo, that the skills of sports car craftsmanship must be nurtured and passed on to future generations.

It’s an approach inspired by the principle of “Shikinen Sengu”, an ancient Japanese ritual in which a Shinto shrine is dismantled and rebuilt once in every generation to preserve and enhance the craftsmanship skills used in its creation.

The GR GT is a track-inspired road car with racing DNA, powered by a new 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine paired with a single-motor hybrid system. In addition to high power and torque for exceptional performance, the car’s development focused on achieving a low centre of gravity, low weight with high rigidity, and aerodynamic performance.

The GR GT3 shares the GR GT’s core elements but has a different profile as a track-focused race car. It’s engineered to be highly competitive and deliver accessible performance.

Looking ahead, the Lexus LFA Concept presents Lexus’ vision for a next-generation electric sports car. It shares common technologies and aspirations with the GR GT and GR GT3, while blending advanced performance with emotional appeal and invoking the spirit of the original LFA. It aims to exceed customers’ expectations, drawing the driver into an immersive experience like no other.

The GR GT and GR GT3 will be on show and in action at the festival, appearing in the Supercar Paddock and making speed runs on the famous hill climb. Defined by steep gradients, tight corners and unforgiving barriers, the hill climb is one of motorsport’s most technical short courses for demonstrating acceleration, agility, aerodynamic stability and driver confidence. This will be the first European dynamic uncamouflaged appearance for both models. Meanwhile, visitors will be given a first close-up view of the Lexus LFA Concept in the Supercar Paddock.

GAZOO Racing’s competition stars

GAZOO Racing’s participation at the top tiers of international motorsport will be celebrated at the festival with appearances by the GR YARIS Rally1, the car which has delivered multiple World Rally Championship titles for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, and the DKR GR Hilux, a winning contender in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.

A line-up of championship-winning and internationally renowned drivers will be demonstrating the cars’ performance on the hill climb and rally stage. Subject to confirmation, it will include all TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team’s drivers: the nine-time and reigning World Rally Champion Driver Sébastien Ogier; current WRC leader Elfyn Evans; Japanese star Takamoto Katsuta; team newcomer and Rallye Monte-Carlo victor Oliver Solberg; and Sami Pajari, a past WRC Junior and WRC2 champion.  Henk Lategan, a winner with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship and four-time South African champion, is set to take the wheel of the DKR GR Hilux.

TOYOTA RACING: from Le Mans podium to Goodwood

TOYOTA RACING will display the #7 TR010 HYBRID that recently achieved Toyota’s sixth victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. The team’s hard-fought victory in one of the world’s most challenging circuit races took the team to the top of the driver and manufacturer championship standings in the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship. The car will be on static view alongside the GR YARIS Rally1 and DKR GR Hilux.

Road cars infused with GAZOO Racing performance and design

The knowledge and experience gained by GAZOO Racing in the heat of competition feeds directly into the development of ever-better cars for the road. At Goodwood, this philosophy will be demonstrated by the GR Yaris Aero Performance, the latest development of the multi-award-winning performance hatchback. Also taking part in the festival’s “First Glance” programme will be the all-new RAV4 GR Sport, a version of the plug-in hybrid SUV that benefits from both GR-themed design details and a chassis and suspension tuned for sportier handling.

*The GR GT and GR GT3 cars appearing at the festival will be prototype/development vehicles.