Those familiar with Toyota have surely seen its TRD branding on myriad vehicles. That initialism stands for Toyota Racing Development, the company’s longstanding tuning and racing arm that takes run-of-the-mill models and turns them into proper off-roaders and, more recently, better-handling versions of cars like the Camry and Avalon. But the Toyota Supra, the brand’s newest performance car, is officially called the GR Supra with no TRD letters to be found. So, what gives?
GR stands for Gazoo Racing, with the Gazoo part of the name meaning “garage.” It is yet another performance offshoot from Toyota, and it’s even cooler than you might have imagined. The GR sub-brand began as a sort of skunkworks project started by Akio Toyoda before he became the company’s current president; it eventually became the company’s dedicated motorsports arm and has grown to include the development of performance street cars for Toyota. The GR brand races in the World Endurance Championship, the World Rally Championship, among other series.
Outside of its racing efforts—and outside of the U.S.—the GR team and brand has launched a number of Japanese-market models you might never have heard of. For example, there was the Mark X GRMN, a rear-wheel-drive, V-6-powered Avalon-size car with a limited-slip differential and a six-speed manual. (This and the original BMW M5 and not that far apart.) Other models you won’t see stateside include a GR version of the CH-R, a GR version of the 86 sports car, and the wicked and recently announced GR Yaris. As of this writing, the company is also working on the GR Super Sport concept, a 986-hp hybrid hypercar built from Toyota’s racing experience at Le Mans and other WEC races, and it and more GR models may soon be heading to America. It’s also worth noting that TRD isn’t going away, and the brands will exist side by side.
Based on our experience with the GR Supra—which has more power, a new engine option, and a bigger lineup for 2021—we’d certainly welcome more GR models in the United States, as the Gazoo Racing blend of sporty suspension tuning, engine enhancements, and aggressive style are hugely effective weapons against Toyota’s longstanding—and frankly fairly accurate—reputation as a builder of automotive appliances. What will the next GR model be in America? We hope we won’t have to wait long to find out.
