The GR name has quickly become a performance icon, affixing itself to several Toyota models that provide excitement and fun.
Another Toyota could arrive with the GR moniker attached to it sometime in the near future. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Toyota continues to capitalize on the impressive foundation that’s been built by the GR models we already see on the roads. These cars provide excellent performance and impressive features that make them fun to drive when it’s time to get out on the road or track to see what your car can do.
More than 60 years of racing and development
You might not have heard of Gazoo Racing until recently and might not realize that’s what the GR moniker means on performance-oriented Toyota cars. This isn’t simply a new sub-brand of Toyota, but the racing team that has been working for more than 60 years to help Toyota create cars that are great on the road and track. The addition of the GR name to Toyota models indicates vehicles with higher performance than the traditional models, and it has become part of the name used for Toyota’s performance cars.
What cars wear the GR name?
Currently, there are three cars sold in America with the GR badge on them. These three cars are:
Toyota GR86
The Toyota GR86 is an evolution from the deleted Scion brand and used to be the Scion FR-S. It was also called the Toyota 86 before the GR was added. Today, this compact roadster is a rewarding car to drive and one of the final manual-transmission cars available. The GR86 is remarkably affordable compared to other sports cars, giving you an easy way to get into a car that can be a lot of fun to drive.
This little car is a coupe with a small flat four-cylinder engine that sends 228 horsepower to the rear wheels. It has a back-to-basics appear and pure driving pleasure to give you the ride quality desired when you’re behind the wheel. The GR86 offers attractive styling, sharp steering, and det handling to give you the drive you want to enjoy. It is a departure from other small roadsters, such as the Subaru BRZ and Mazda Miata.
Toyota GR Supra
The Toyota GR Supra brought back a name we’ve missed for many years. This car is actually on the verge of being upgraded to the next generation, but we won’t have to wait twenty years for it to arrive. The current version of the Supra can be had with a powerful six-cylinder power plant. This engine makes full use of turbocharging and are extremely fun to drive. The six-cylinder engine is mechanically similar to the powertrain found in the BMW Z4.
When it first returned to the market, the Supra offered a four-cylinder engine and only had an eight-speed automatic transmission. Thankfully, Toyota saw the need for something more and gave this car a six-speed manual transmission to satisfy the driving purists looking for a much more engaged feeling from behind the wheel. The Sura sends 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, which is enough power to send this car to 60 MPH in 3.9 seconds, which is extremely quick.
Toyota GR Corolla
The Toyota Corolla was never meant to be a sports car, but neither was the Yaris. We missed out on the GR Yaris in America, but Toyota made up for that slight by sending us the GR Corolla. This incredible car has prodigious power from a tiny, turbocharged engine, making it an apex-clipping champ that feels like it belongs on a rally track. The GR Corolla is the latest hot hatch to hit the market in a world in which fewer hot hatches are available than ever before.
The turbocharged three-cylinder engine sends 300 horsepower to the wheels, making this car a fast and fun sports car to drive. The GR Corolla has AWD and manual transmission, making it a top choice when you want some fun and plenty of grip to hit the turns hard and fast. This little Toyota hits 60 MPH in as little as 4.6 seconds, making it the fastest factory-built Corolla to date.
Toyota is working on the next GR model, which could be the return of the MR2. Although that kind of buries the lead, the new MR2 should follow a path to greatness that has been paved by the three cars in America that already wear the Gazoo Racing name.
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