Skip advert
Advertisement
Opinion

Toyota breaks its racing cars so that its road cars don’t suffer the same fate

Paul Barker was impressed with how Toyota test things to breaking point and then puts them back together better

Opinion - Toyota racing

Sometimes in this business you meet people whose enthusiasm for developing cars that people will love makes you smile.

Last week, I spent a day with Toyota and Lexus at their annual event, where they wheel out their latest shiny new things. There’s plenty going on, largely around electrification, but the point was repeatedly made that consumers need to choose the best powertrain, rather than being forced into tech they’re not ready to adopt. Or “carbon emissions are the enemy, not any particular type of technology”, as Toyota’s European boss Matt Harrison put it.

But while new and updated mainstream Toyotas are interesting, plenty about the company’s character came out during its session on the GR brand in particular. It’s not that normal for companies to be so willing to talk about their cars breaking. However, the key message from its motorsport programme – across disciplines including world rally, off-road rally raid and endurance championships – is that Toyota races to test things to breaking point, and then puts them back together better.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Tech transfer via motorsport is nothing new, but to be so open and make the link to road cars so clear is less common. And the straight line between Toyota’s learnings on the track and improvements on the cars we buy bodes well.

But my favourite moment was the answer to a question posed during an engaging chat with Hiroyuki Yamada, GR project general manager and the man tasked with keeping the performance brand doing the things that have made it such a smash hit in recent years, primarily with the epic GR Yaris.

He’d been dragged away from developing a new 2.0-litre engine for future GR models to come and chat to Europe’s media, and I asked if he felt more pressure working on future cars following the Yaris’s phenomenal success.

“I started working for Toyota and working in the car industry because I love cars, and I feel greater pressure in keeping the field of play for the true car lovers around the world,” came Yamada’s response. If the people developing the next generation of iconic yet affordable performance cars see themselves as guardians of these vehicles on behalf of drivers worldwide, that feels like a good thing to me.

BUY A USED TOYOTA GR YARIS NOW

Skip advert
Advertisement

As Editor, Paul’s job is to steer the talented group of people that work across Auto Express and Driving Electric, and steer the titles to even bigger and better things by bringing the latest important stories to our readers. Paul has been writing about cars and the car industry since 2000, working for consumer and business magazines as well as freelancing for national newspapers, industry titles and a host of major publications.

Find a car with the experts

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Used Toyota Celica (Mk7, 1999-2006) buyer’s guide: a great modern classic
Used Toyota Celica - front

Used Toyota Celica (Mk7, 1999-2006) buyer’s guide: a great modern classic

A full used buyer’s guide on the Toyota Celica Mk7 that was on sale between 1999 and 2006
Used car tests
19 Jun 2025
The best ever popemobiles
Best ever popemobiles

The best ever popemobiles

For nearly 100 years Popes have had bespoke transport – here we chart the astonishing history of the popemobile
Best cars & vans
8 May 2025
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

Most Popular

Range Rover Sport SV gets massive £35k price drop as it enters series-production
Range Rover Sport SV Black - front

Range Rover Sport SV gets massive £35k price drop as it enters series-production

There’s also a new SV Black trim, and a Range Rover Sport Stealth Package for non SVs
News
1 Jul 2025
Car Deal of the Day: MG ZS gives a big SUV feel for a miniscule £194 a month
MG ZS - front cornering

Car Deal of the Day: MG ZS gives a big SUV feel for a miniscule £194 a month

The MG ZS is an easy car to like and live with. It’s our Deal of the Day for 3 July
News
3 Jul 2025
Arrivederci Roma: new Ferrari Amalfi slots in as brand’s latest entry-level model
Ferrari Amalfi - front static

Arrivederci Roma: new Ferrari Amalfi slots in as brand’s latest entry-level model

A slick new look and more power are the headlines for Ferrari’s new baby, but it’s probably some simple new buttons that will get customers’ attention
News
1 Jul 2025