Gazoo Racing and Lexus thrill crowds at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

• Gazoo Racing GR GT and GR GT3 demonstrate their speed, sound and handling on Goodwood’s famous hill climb
• Lexus LFA Concept surprises the crowds, making an unannounced world premiere dynamic appearance
• International motorsport excellence represented by Gazoo Racing’s GR Yaris Rally1 from the World Rally Championship, the GR DKR Hilux from the World Rally-Raid Championship and Toyota Racing’s 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours-winning TR010
• Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team’s drivers demonstrate their skills on the festival hill climb and rally course
• New GR Yaris Aero and all-new RAV4 GR Sport debut in the festival’s First Glance category

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, GR GT, GR GT3 and Lexus LFA Concept development driver Hiroaki Ishiura, four-time Super GT Champion Sho Tsuboi, Super GT 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 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 No7 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.

ENDS