Toyota’s Sports Car Onslaught: GR GT, GT3, and Lexus LFA
What They Did and Didn’t Say About Toyota’s New Holy Trinity, Plus What It All Means for the Future
After Toyota unveiled its new holy trinity—the Lexus LFA Concept, the GR GT, and the GR GT3 race car—we had a few hours to inspect the vehicles up close and attend technical briefings with chief program manager Takashi Doi and the engineering teams covering chassis, powertrain, design, and aerodynamics. We asked a lot of questions and learned a few things, in some cases via deflections or nonanswers. The biggest takeaway is probably that Toyota plans to milk every milestone and waypoint on the journey of these vehicles from debut to keys getting handed to customers.
GR GT Pricing and Availability
The GR GT is the road car that Toyota claims will be coming “in 2027,” likely as a 2028 model, and which serves as the homologated version of the GR GT3 race car. That might mean the racer will appear shortly thereafter, although we’ve seen in the past—as with the latest Ford GT—that the cars go racing well before their homologation siblings hit the road.
After repeated questions about pricing of the GR GT, project manager Doi invited us to inspect the prices of Porsche 911 and Mercedes-AMG AMG GT models with similar specifications. Using the GR GT’s claimed 641 hp and 3858-pound curb weight as guides, we get a weight to power ratio of 6.0 lb/hp. Here are high-performance GTs with a similar figure:
| Vehicle | Curb Weight | Horsepower | Weight/Power | Base Price |
| :————————– | :———- | :——— | :———– | :————- |
| 2028 Toyota GR GT | 3858 lb | 641 hp | 6.0 lb/hp | N/A |
| 2026 Porsche 911 GT3 | 3278 lb | 502 hp | 6.2 lb/hp | $235,500 |
| 2026 Porsche 911 Turbo S | 3859 lb | 701 hp | 5.5 lb/hp | $275,650 |
| 2026 AMG GT Pro 4Matic | 4299 lb | 603 hp | 7.1 lb/hp | $202,200 |
| 2026 Aston Martin Vantage S | 3847 lb | 671 hp | 5.7 lb/hp | $235,000 |
Note: Prices are approximate and subject to change.
If this competitive set is any indication, it seems highly likely the GR GT will be priced at more than $200,000.
Performance Modes and Models
The GR GT has a fiendishly complicated hybrid powertrain that includes a mechanical limited-slip differential (LSD), which should allow for not just highly engaging driving dynamics but all the tire-scorching shenanigans your heart may desire. Think thick black burnouts, delish smoky donuts, and eye-wateringly long drifts. To that question, will it drift? As in, will there be a drift mode?
Doi-san confirmed his team was working on different driving modes, but wouldn’t say specifically what they would be called. A look at GR GT’s steering wheel provides some clues, via a knob on the right that includes the words ‘Sport Boost.’
Mirroring this button on the lower left side is a button for traction and stability control, labeled ‘TRC/VSC’ and the words “Off.” When asked if drivers would be allowed to turn traction and stability completely off, Doi eventually said yes.
Looking ahead, we asked if there will be future higher-performance models of the GR GT, like a Nürburgring Edition (as there was at end of the Lexus LFA’s production run), GRMN (Meister of Nürburgring), GT R, or GT3 RS version. Doi replied, “Obviously we can’t talk about future product, but variations and improvements is something we’re always looking for. And that’s crucial, very important for a sports car.”
Nürburgring Nordschleife: Humiliation to Redemption?
Regarding the ’Ring: when Akio “Master Driver Morizo” Toyoda, father of Gazoo Racing and grandson of the founder of Toyota, introduced the GR GT and GR GT3 on stage in Toyota’s Woven City, he stood in front of a huge video wall with the word ‘humiliation’ with a capital H, and not just for a few seconds. Akio spoke at length about what it was like, just a few years ago, to do development laps at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Toyota sports cars (notably including a fourth-generation Supra), and get passed by faster, better-handling sports cars, mostly from Germany.
It was this very Japanese concept of using humiliation as a force for improvement that drove the development of the GR GT and GT3. When we asked Doi-san about the importance of the Nürburgring and whether the team is targeting a specific lap time, say, under 7 minutes, as recently set by the Mustang GTD (6:52), Corvette ZR1 (6:50), and Corvette ZR1X (6:49), he wouldn’t take the bait. But he did affirm the importance of ’Ring to Toyota, the GR brand, and the company’s motorsports programs, and reiterated Akio’s position that the GR GT was not going to be the one getting passed on the Green Hell.
Given the modesty and humility of Japanese automotive engineers, we consider this essentially a declaration that the GR GT will achieve a sub-7-minute lap, especially because various 911 GT3 and AMG GT models have all dipped well below that barrier, as well.
Lexus LFA Pricing and Availability
If you love the look of the LFA and want to know when it’s coming and how much it will be, prepare to be disappointed. “Several years” was the refrain from Toyota representatives we talked to, including Doi-san. As to the price, we think the new LFA will have to be considerably less than the old one, which debuted in 2010 at a shocking $375,000 and exited the market a couple of years later at $445,000 for the LFA Nürburgring Edition.
Doi-san conceded the world has changed since Lexus’ limited-edition V-10 supercar departed, and that coming back as an EV complicates things. This appears to be a subtle implication that the next-generation LFA needs to be less than $350,000.
We think it must be substantially less, for a couple of reasons: The market for luxury sports coupes is already minuscule, and there are currently no electric sports coupes north of $200,000. There are small handfuls of electric luxury and performance cars over $200,000, including the Lucid Air Sapphire, Rolls-Royce Spectre, and Cadillac Celestiq, but none of those fit the competitive profile of the LFA. Get into the electric hypercar realm of the Rimac Nevera and Lotus Evija, and you’re talking $2.3 to $2.4 million, which is decidedly not Lexus territory. About the only thing comes close to the mission Lexus is attempting to execute is the second-gen Tesla Roadster, which is rumored to be in the $200,000 to $250,000 range—if Elon’s vaporware ever materializes.
Lexus LFA as Solid-State Battery Flagship?
But there is one complicating factor that could render the LFA a very pricey, and exotic, luxury sports flagship for Lexus, and that is if the LFA arrives with solid-state battery (SSB) technology, a rumor no one at the event would confirm under direct questioning.
What we do know is Toyota has been working on solid-state batteries since 2020, after starting a joint venture with Panasonic named Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc. In 2024, Toyota released an update on its battery plans, showing SSB arriving in 2027 to 2028 with a range of 621 miles (1000 km) and recharging times of approximately 10 minutes. Obviously, this kind of battery performance would represent a huge technological leap, which is exactly what Lexus may be looking for in its flagship sports car. It also could potentially be a solution for a major packaging problem in the electric LFA.
The current best practice in global EV manufacturing is to put the heavy battery cells, bundled in packs or modules, as low as possible in the floor of the vehicle, usually taking up all of the real estate between the wheels, if not extending past in some cases. This is called a skateboard chassis and it was pioneered in production by the first successful mainstream EV, the Tesla Model S, and every major EV that has followed.
Keeping the heavy batteries down low is a solid move for both packaging and handling. For the latter it keeps the center of gravity low, which gives EVs that planted feeling when changing direction. But there are
