The benchmarks set the bar, and Toyota’s team is well aware of what the competition can do on the circuit. Chairman Akio Toyoda didn’t mince words: The automaker will not be humiliated, and with the GR GT, it aims to show the world it can win on both the street as well as the track.
At the GR GT’s reveal just outside Fuji, Japan, at the automaker’s Woven City site, Project General Manager Takashi Doi would not confirm a Nürburgring lap time or name a target. But the man in charge of the new flagship sports car said, “The overall design has the potential,” when asked if the GR GT could be capable of a sub-7-minute lap of the Nordschleife.
Doi said competitor times are “in their head.” Those competitors? The Porsche 911 GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT, among others. The hottest, fully kitted track versions of both sports cars have rounded the Green Hell in less than 7 minutes.
The Porsche 911 GT3 did the deed in 6:56.294 with the Weissach package and a manual transmission, while the AMG GT Black Series lapped the ‘Ring in 6:43.616. The latter marked the fastest front-engine production car lap to date. The team’s aware of these numbers, Doi made clear.
Doi said a hard target time has not been set as a benchmark, and that while development of the prototypes has been taking place on the ‘Ring, among other places, the team has yet to reach the stage of gathering firm lap times. The prototypes are still too early in development for this.
At this point, Toyota’s projections are all theoretical and based on data. But that doesn’t mean they’re empty claims.
Ford CEO Jim Farley, for example, didn’t announce the $325,000 Mustang GTD and claim the car would run a sub-7-minute lap at the ‘Ring without knowing full well that, on paper, his machine could meet the challenge. That would be a bold and potentially embarrassing bet. Computer modeling and data show early on what a design could theoretically accomplish under the right conditions, setting aside the many variables engineers can’t control.
Toyoda was clear: Humiliation isn’t an option. Doi was clear: This car has the potential. The table is set, but we’ll have to wait for development to finish to find out what the GR GT can really do on the ‘Ring. Until then? It “has the potential.”
Toyota provided travel, lodging, and some raw fish I definitely didn’t eat to bring you this first-hand report.
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