Skip advert
Advertisement

Toyota GR performance brand is gunning for Mercedes-AMG

Toyota's new Gazoo Racing performance division is looking to take on established rivals with hot Yaris, Supra and GT86 models.

Toyota Yaris GRMN - rear badge

Toyota has launched a new global high-performance sub-brand that is set to rival BMW’s M Division, Mercedes’ AMG and Audi’s RS editions, claim company insiders.

Known simply as GR – which stands for Gazoo Racing – Toyota’s new performance division will roll out globally over the next few years, and will appear on most new Toyotas. The first of these to reach the UK is the new Yaris GRMN

Advertisement - Article continues below

• New Toyota Supra set to debut at Geneva 2018

The GR brand will appear in ascending order of potency in three different guises on new Toyotas; as a basic GR, as a more aggressive GR Sport and finally as a no-holds barred GRMN, where the MN stands for “Meisters Nurburgring.”

Gazoo Racing has long been a skunkworks project at Toyota, appearing on the side of limited edition tuned Toyotas within the home Japanese market and representing the company’s internal racing projects, particularly at the Nurburgring 24h. But from now on it will become a global high-performance road car brand in much the same vein as AMG and BMW’s M Division. 

The next car that comes to the UK to feature GR branding will be the all-new Toyota Supra, which will be launched at Geneva this year and appear on UK roads in 2019.

Following this will be GR versions of the next GT86 and numerous other members of the range. “There’s no reason why the GR brand can’t be applied to any or all Toyotas in future,” a company insider told Auto Express. If they can apply the top-flight level to the Yaris, then they can apply it to any Toyota, goes the current thinking. 

How do you like Toyota GR's chances of eclipsing Mercedes-AMG? Have your say in the comments...

Skip advert
Advertisement

Find a car with the experts

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

New Toyota bZ7 is a £17,000 electric saloon, but it’s not coming here
Toyota bZ7 - front 3/4 static

New Toyota bZ7 is a £17,000 electric saloon, but it’s not coming here

Toyota is looking to expand its bZ-branded EV range
News
23 Apr 2025
Best Toyota cars: Our top Toyotas present and past
Best Toyota Cars - header

Best Toyota cars: Our top Toyotas present and past

Want to know which are the best Toyotas to buy? Here is our guide to the brand’s best cars, present and past
Best cars & vans
22 Apr 2025
Toyota MR2 (Mk2, 1989-1999) icon review: mid-engined thrills for the masses
Toyota MR2 Mk2 - front tracking

Toyota MR2 (Mk2, 1989-1999) icon review: mid-engined thrills for the masses

The Toyota MR2 was nicknamed the ‘poor man’s Ferrari’, but was that actually high praise rather than the insult it was intended to be?
Road tests
25 Mar 2025
Shanghai Motor Show 2025: what all the big car brands are up to
Shanghai Motor Show 2025 - header

Shanghai Motor Show 2025: what all the big car brands are up to

The Shanghai Auto Show is now an established part of the automotive calendar – we’ve got a full list of show debuts
News
25 Mar 2025

Most Popular

Leapmotor B05 family hatch on route to the UK with sub-£30k price and 400-mile range
Leapmotor badge

Leapmotor B05 family hatch on route to the UK with sub-£30k price and 400-mile range

The Stellantis-backed brand will launch a Volkswagen ID.3-rivalling small car with almost 20 per cent more range
News
23 Apr 2025
New Renault Clio prepares for launch: And it's not an EV
Renault Clio Mk6 (camouflaged) - front 3/4 tracking

New Renault Clio prepares for launch: And it's not an EV

The Clio isn’t going anywhere despite the reemergence of the Renault 5
News
22 Apr 2025
New Subaru Outback is “simply unsellable in Europe” for one very simple reason…
Subaru Outback front 2025

New Subaru Outback is “simply unsellable in Europe” for one very simple reason…

Subaru has confirmed that the new seventh-generation Outback will not be coming to the UK, or anywhere in Europe for that matter
News
23 Apr 2025