- Akio Toyoda’s favorite cars are the GR Yaris and GR Corolla.
- These hot hatches are the only thing he’d sell if Toyota didn’t have a full lineup.
- Toyoda told an aspiring engineer that the door is wide open for a hypercar.
Higher-ups in the automotive industry are typically cooped up in an office all day, but Akio Toyoda is not one of them. Under the “Morizo” pseudonym, the company’s chairman has been racing cars as a second gig since the 2007 Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race for Toyota’s Gazoo Racing team. Even at 69, the former Toyota president and CEO remains very much active.
During a visit to Fuji Speedway for a test-drive event, Toyoda made an interesting disclosure to an engineer who’s about to start working for Toyota this spring. When asked what Toyota considers a good car overall, the chairman admitted that if it were up to him, the company would sell only hot hatchbacks:
‘If we only built what I like, they’d all be GR Corollas and GR Yarises.’
Photo by: Toyota Gazoo Racing
Although he didn’t mention the other GR-branded models, it’s reasonable to assume Toyoda would also include the 86, Supra, and the new GT in his dream team. Gazoo Racing is now its own entity, having recently been spun off as a dedicated performance sub-brand. It shows Toyota is serious about maintaining a permanent lineup of sports cars. More could be on the way, as there are rumblings of a new Celica, which dealers in the United States have apparently already seen behind closed doors.
During the same interview, the young engineer told the chairman that his dream is to create a new hypercar in the same vein as the V10-powered LFA. Toyoda encouraged him, suggesting there wouldn’t be roadblocks to achieving that vision:
‘Once you decide, don’t give up easily. Find people and colleagues who resonate, and you can make that car. There’s freedom to do that at Toyota.’
A new LFA is indeed coming, but only in name. Lexus is working on a fully electric supercar that was recently previewed by a namesake concept, following an earlier Sport Concept. Toyota’s luxury division hasn’t set a launch date yet, but we do know it’s coming, eventually.
Toyota may also enter the electric performance niche with the FT-Se, an MR2-esque concept reportedly bound for production later this decade. However, Akio Toyoda has admitted he prefers gas-burning cars. In an interview last year with Automotive News, the chairman candidly revealed:
‘For me, as the master driver, my definition of a sports car is something with the smell of gasoline and a noisy engine.’
Motor1’s Take: The rise of Toyota’s sports cars wouldn’t have been possible without Toyoda’s support. He’s a true enthusiast and a driving force behind the company’s decision to greenlight several GR products, ultimately leading to the creation of a separate sub-brand.
Of course, Toyota couldn’t survive on GR products alone; they’re niche vehicles after all. Models like the RAV4 and Corolla remain the bread and butter of the lineup, funding the development of more exciting cars. These halo models might not sell in huge numbers, but they boost the company’s image and draw people into showrooms, even if they end up buying a Camry instead.
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