Author: Nidhi
Few racing teams can compete with Toyota's dominance in motorsport. Since its inception, the Japanese manufacturer has won the World Rally Championship practically every decade, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and the Formula 1 Constructors' World Championship.
Toyota has also excelled in other forms of motorsport, including drifting, rallycross, and even monster truck racing. It's no wonder Toyota Racing Cars (TRC) remains one of their most important endeavors. Let's find out which Toyota Racing Cars are the finest!
Toyota's first proper sports vehicle was the S800. The S800 was powered by a 0.8-liter, two-cylinder, horizontally opposed engine. The car weighed less than 1,300 pounds and had a modest 44 horsepower. It was a two-seater Targa with a lift-out roof panel. The S800, both attractive and enjoyable to drive, would pave the way for a long line of sporty Toyotas.
The Toyota GR86 debuted in 2012 and is known as the Subaru BRZ. The lightweight GR86 is a rear-wheel-drive two-door vehicle designed as a back-to-basics sports car focused on driving enjoyment. Power comes from a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine producing 228 horsepower in its second iteration.
The GR86 is an evolution of the classic 86, with the same rear-wheel-drive formula ready to give unadulterated driving pleasure. The GR86 is designed to tackle the twists and bends of the road with ease, thanks to enhanced aerodynamics, a more robust and stiffer chassis, and a more powerful engine.
This Japanese screamer defeated the famed Peugeots in the World Sportscar Championship at Monza in 1992 before the French cars were into their stride for the season. With the series' discontinuation in 1993, Toyota's tenure as a leading endurance title challenger ended. It did, however, win Group C in one of the penultimate series in which it was still significant, the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, beating both Nissan and Mazda. A minor consolation.
Although there were four generations of Soarers, the turbocharged variants set new performance and luxury benchmarks. The Soarer had two turbocharged engines in 1988. Still, the addition of the 1JZ 2.5-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine in 1991 made this automobile a rocket. Best of all, it was available with a manual transmission.
The Toyota GT86 was inspired by the AE86 variants of the Toyota Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin, which have become legends in the compact tuner world. The AE86, used as a foundation for everything from drift cars to time attack monsters, had a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that produced between 112 and 128 hp, depending on area and year.
The Celica is a nameplate that has been around for quite some time. Although rear-wheel drive and front-wheel drive variants were available, the all-wheel-drive models stood out. The first all-wheel-drive turbocharged Celica, known as the GT-Four, debuted in 1986, powered by a 190 hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. The Turbo All-Trac debuted in North America the following year.
There were three generations of the Celica GT-Four:
-ST165, based on the Celica ST185 manufactured from September 1989 to September 1993.
-ST205 was constructed between February 1994 and June 1999.
-The ST205 Turbo all-wheel drive coupe's 2.0-liter engine delivered a massive 240 PS of power and reached 60 MPH in just under six seconds.
-Toyota was obliged to construct 2500 homologation units to compete in the World Rally Championship's Group A car category. Toyota's ST205 won the European Rally Championship in 1996, cementing its place as an iconic Toyota sports vehicle. It's a crazy machine to own!
A mid-engine, two-seat sports car is always exciting. Still, the MR2 pushed things to the next level by being a car that was affordable to the typical consumer rather than a high-priced exotic. When the second-generation MR2 arrived, it was available with naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines and one with a supercharger tacked on. In North America, the MR2 was available with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine producing 200 horsepower. In Japan, the identical engine could produce up to 241 horsepower straight from the factory.
Only two road-legal race vehicles were built, but the GT-One demonstrated Toyota's capabilities. The GT-One road car, which had to be created for homologation purposes for competing at the 24 Hours of LeMans, includes a mid-mounted 3.6-liter turbocharged V8 engine with upwards of 600 hp. Of course, the rest of the statistics are as impressive as a 10.7-second quarter-mile time and total downforce. However, with only two cars ever produced, neither of which is still on the road today, it isn't easy to give this car a ranking higher than fourth.
Could this be the most beautiful Toyota ever made? Very possibly. The 2000GT, built in limited numbers and commanding exorbitant prices today, demonstrated to the world in 1967 that Toyota could create a perfect sports vehicle.
2000 refers to the 2000-cc six-cylinder engine, which produced 150 horsepower. The 2000GT wasn't the fastest car on the road, weighing just under 2,500 pounds, but it was a joy to drive and looked excellent no matter what speed it was moving.
The Supra is unquestionably Toyota's halo vehicle. It's the sports car most closely identified with the brand and is the one everyone wants Toyota to bring back. Despite having some unique sheet metal, the Supra was a more sporty model option on the Celica than its vehicle when it first debuted in 1978.
The Supra became a separate model in 1986, and performance improved significantly because of more powerful six-cylinder engines, both normally aspirated and turbocharged. However, the 4th generation Supra will seal the Supra's icon status in fans' minds. The Supra, which was available with a 320 hp 3.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine, performed as good as or better than many cars costing much more than the Toyota. We are grateful to have the Supra back in our life after it was reborn recently.
Toyota and Yamaha are unusual partners, although they have collaborated occasionally. Most recently, on the Lexus LFA supercar's voice. However, the motorbike company was instrumental in developing Toyota's Group 7 sportscar. This wedge-shaped monster from the 1960s was Toyota's first purpose-built racing car.
While initially overweight and underpowered, the 415S found its stride in the second half of 1968, claiming the top four positions in the Suzuka Auto Racing Tournament.
It won the second running of the Fuji 1,000km in July 1968, the Suzuka 12-hour in August, and the Suzuki 1,000km in September. Unfortunately, all 14 of the 415S-spec Toyota 7s were destroyed once they were retired from modern racing. The 7's evolution continued with the 'new 7' 474S, which had a larger, more powerful DFV-inspired 5.0-liter V8 engine. Only the Can-Am winner remains from the twelve cars built. Toyota's legendary history in bespoke racing car development and competition began with this series of brutes. Future generations can only hope for the 7s' out-of-the-box success.
Conclusion
Toyota has made a global impact, from excellent eco-friendly Hybrid automobiles to racing on the F1 circuit. However, Toyota isn't the first name that springs to mind for most enthusiasts regarding sports vehicles. Fortunately, we've done the homework and prepared a list of the most excellent Toyota sports cars available. Continue reading our blog Toyota4runners.com for more Toyota automobile information!
