Lexus is set to launch a supercar rival the likes of the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT, powered by a V8 engine producing up to 450kW.
Autocar reports it’ll be called the LFR and it’ll be a spiritual successor to the V10 LFA, though this time around it’ll be a road-legal version of a full-blown race car and not a standalone supercar model.
We’ve covered Toyota’s GT3 GR concept car since it was first revealed in 2022, which has most recently been seen as a prototype testing in camouflage at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit. It’s expected to be ready for top-flight European endurance racing in 2026.
The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), which governs the competition Toyota’s GT3 car will take part in, outlines homologation rules that requires any GT3 car to share its basic body design with a related road-legal car.
As such, it’s almost certain we’ll receive a toned-down (yet still monstrous) version of the Japanese racer within the next two years.
The road-going car will likely wear a Lexus badge to follow after the brand’s premium sports cars, notably the LFA and RC F.
The Toyota GR GT3 sounds unmistakably like a beastly V8 that could be benefitting from twin-turbo induction, while it’s been reported Lexus could introduce a hybrid successor to the LFA in the form of the LFR next year.
It could potentially use a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 with between 515kW and 530kW of power, mated with a electric motor to drive total outputs up to 662kW.
Speculations over the new model have been bolstered by Toyota’s joint commitment to internal combustion with Mazda and Subaru, headlined by the development of lower-emissions internal combustion engines that lean on hybrid assistance and the use of synthetic fuels.
No specifications have been released of any version of this car, though GT3 regulations outline power outputs of up to 450kW and no less than 1300kg.
The new performance car has previously been referred to as a “catalog model” and not a limited-build model like the LFA, which means it could stick around longer and in larger numbers than the 500-example V10 offering.
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