Toyota unveiled the concept model of sports car "GR Super Sports Concept" at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2018 held in January this year. GR stands for Toyota's Motorsport division, Gazoo Racing, and at last autumn they began to develop as a new high-performance brand of a commercial model. The GR Super Sports concept is an ultra-high performance super sports that stands at the top of its GR brand. It was foretold that it was planning to develop such a car before, but what kind of car they are aiming for has materialize for the first time.
The base is not a commercial car but a racing car
The GR Super Sports concept is planning to become a sports car that can run on public road by acquiring numbers not only in Japan, but of course worldwide. However, the base vehicle is not a mass-produced car. It is said that Toyota were able to build from scratch using the technology from the racing car "TS 050" that has been participating in French Le Mans 24 hour endurance race.
It is light because the frame is made of carbon fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP)!
The car body is made of carbon fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) which is lightweight but high in strength. They adopt a frame structure that covers the upper body which becomes the outer shell on the two-seater base frame. Suspension is a multiple link push rod type common in racing cars. The tire is 330 mm wide, the magnesium wheel is not 5 bolts, but one point fixed at center.
The powertrain is a hybrid that combines a 2.4 liter V6 turbo with an electric motor, but the system is also completely different from a commercial car. Speaking of Toyota's Hybrid, it is famous for the two-motor type used for "Prius" and others, but the GR Super Sports Concept is the one-motor type "THS - R" like the TS 050. The synthesized output of the engine and the motor is what make it reach 1000 horsepower.
Car for the purpose to compete with the world's hyper car
In the current world, the genre "hyper car" attracts attention of rich people. Although its definition is not clear, things like the one with the highest speed exceeding 400 km/h and the one that runs through the Nurburgring Circuit North course in Germany, which is said to be the toughest in the world in less than seven minutes, it is a model which cannot be fitted by the concept of the conventional "super sports”.
The target of the GR Super Sports concept is exactly this hyper car. Although no specific power performance aim has been announced at all, considering the power with maximum output 1,000 horsepower, lightweight CFRP body and extremely refined aerodynamic performance, the performance that the maximum speed exceeds 400 km/h is considered sufficiently achievable. On the other hand, although it is the Nürburgring circuit, now the world fastest public road capable car is fighting top at 6 minutes 40 seconds, but the racing machine is giving out lap time that goes beyond that. The commercial model of the GR Super Sports concept with a racing car structure aims to cut off 6 min 40 sec, isn’t it?
Of course there are many rivals in the world. Companies that are trying to stand at the top of hypercars such as Aston Martin in the UK, Mercedes-Benz AMG, Koenigsegg, Sweden's super sports maker and NIO, a high-performance EV maker in China, are appearing one after another. It is a very interesting question as to whether the GR Super Sports Concept can be number one among them.
What is the price of the GR Super Sports concept?
Although it is the price which is a concern at the end, this is also unpublished at the present. The rival maker says, "It will be difficult to sell at less than 100 million yen even it is Toyota." If the price is less than 100 million yen, perhaps it may become a cause of "price destruction" in the hyper car world!!
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