Toyota Gazoo Racing reverts to Gazoo Racing name 

Toyota Gazoo Racing today announced that it is reverting to the name Gazoo Racing in a return to its founding principles and to strengthen its philosophy of making ever-better cars and fostering talent through motorsports. 

The Gazoo Racing story 

Toyota Gazoo Racing has promoted the making of ever-better cars and the fostering of talent by taking up the challenge of competition in different motorsports categories worldwide. 

Gazoo Racing originated in 2007 when Akio Toyoda, then executive vice president, competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race alongside his driving mentor and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Master Driver Hiromu Naruse and other colleagues. 

At the time, the team were not permitted to use “TOYOTA” in their name, as competing in the race was not recognised by TMC as an official company activity. Thus, they entered under the name Team Gazoo. Furthermore, as Toyoda couldn’t gain much understanding for his intention to race, he adopted the driver name “Morizo”.  

The team managed to finish the race, but the achievement came with a feeling of humiliation. This was because while other, mainly European, competitors used the race to put under-development cars through their paces, Toyota didn’t have such a car, let alone any sports cars in its sales line-up, and was in danger of losing its ability to pass on its car-making skills and expertise. When he was overtaken on the track by other manufacturers’ development vehicles, Toyota imagined he could hear his rivals saying “there’s no way you guys at Toyota could build a car like this!”. It triggered a feeling of humiliation he still vividly recalls today. 

The shikinen sengu of car making 

Sports car development requires a manufacturing approach that not only improves a car’s characteristics and fundamental performance but also strives to make it failure-proof, even in harsh conditions. All these efforts also contribute to the development of cars for mass-production. At the same time, the front line of motorsports gives people many opportunities to hone their car-making skills and fosters talent. 

At the Ise Shrine in Japan, traditions and skills are passed down through the shikinen sengu ritual in which all the shrine’s structures are taken down and rebuilt every 20 years. Sports car manufacturing has similar traditions and skills that risk being lost if not passed down. Sensing a potential crisis in TMC becoming a company incapable of building sports cars, Toyota initiated development of the Lexus LFA and chose the Nürburgring circuit in Germany for its principal development site. 

Launched in 2010, the LFA was the first TMC sportscar to be developed in-house in about 20 years. The project faced enormous difficulties, including a lack of wholehearted support within the company for car-making that was considered by some to be unprofitable. This was evidenced by the fact that development was allowed to proceed on the condition that only 500 units would be sold. 

Just before the LFA’s release, the unthinkable happened: Hiromu Naruse was killed in a road accident near the Nürburgring. This came not long after LFA development had concluded and Naruse, as Master Driver, had given his approval, saying “let’s go with this!”. Toyoda, suddenly without his mentor and driving partner, suffered an immense sense of loss. 

However, he remained steadfast in his conviction that cars and talent are honed on the front line of motorsports and continued to pursue sportscar development. The revival of the 86 – GT86 in the UK – followed in 2012 and the GR Supra in 2019. However, development of these models relied on co-operation with Subaru and BMW respectively, meaning that Toyota was unable to achieve a full in-house sportscar project. 

The launch of Toyota Gazoo Racing 

In April 2015, TMC decided to consolidate its in-house motorsports activities under a unified Toyota Gazoo Racing name, including those operating under the banners Toyota Racing, Lexus Racing and Gazoo Racing. It was the moment when activities that could not use the TOYOTA designation back in 2007 could finally bear the company name.  

The never-ending pursuit of making ever-better cars 

Toyoda, then president of TMC, decided the corporation would return to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) to evolve its activities to make ever-better cars. Entering the championship, in which competing vehicles are based on production models, was a major turning point in TMC’s motorsports activities. 

Up to this point, TMC’s motorsports machines were based on already completed production vehicles. Now it was able to take a new approach that reversed the conventional order, first creating a car capable of winning in the WRC and then turning that car into a production vehicle. This led to the 2020 launch of the GR Yaris, developed by Toyota in-house under the philosophy of making ever-better, motorsports-bred cars. 

The GR Yaris was unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January of that year and recorded its maiden competition victory in the following September in the Super Taikyu 24-hour race in Japan. It was seen in action at events around the world and eventually led to the development and launch of the GR Corolla, It was precisely this achievement that revived TMC’s in-house production of sportscars capable of winning. 

In 2025, Toyota returned to the Nürburgring 24 Hours for the first time in six years, fielding a GR Yaris. While at the wheel, Toyoda, TMC’s current Master Driver, says he conversed with Naruse; only the two master drivers know what was discussed. 

For Toyoda, the next challenge was to conduct a true shikinen sengu in the form of TMC creating the ultimate in sportscars. This led to the world premiere of the GR GT, GR GT3 and LFA Concept in 2025. 

TGR’s journey in making ever-better motorsports-bred cars and the fostering of talent is without end. TGR extends its sincere gratitude to everyone in the world of motorsports, its partners and its fans for their unwavering commitment and looks forward to everyone’s continued support. 

The new logo transition for Gazoo Racing is planned for completion in stages by January 2027. 

ENDS