It’s been two and a half years since Toyota rocked the Tokyo Auto Salon with its highly promising GR GT3 Concept. As a refresher, that car would evolve into a successor to the Lexus RC F GT3 that was slated to race in 2026. A new spy video shows what appears to be a road-legal car, which will wear Lexus badges instead.
Caught testing in Japan at Toyota’s Fuji Speedway, the mysterious high-performance coupe doesn’t look quite as aggressive as the GR GT3. The most obvious difference between the two is the absence of a large rear wing. We also don’t see the racer’s side exhausts, while the front splitter isn’t as pronounced.
Elsewhere, the car appears to have a regular windshield wiper, rather than a single piece located in the middle of the glass. At the rear, the car lacks the aggressive diffuser of the GR GT3. Overall, we get the impression that the aerodynamic and cooling package is not as robust as Toyota's race car.
A little over a year ago, Toyota WEC team director Rob Leupen told our sister site Motorsport.com The road-legal car is indeed a Lexus. It has refrained from revealing the model name, though trademarks and rumors suggest it will go by the name “LFR.” The new high-performance coupe will not be a successor to the LFA, but rather a follow-up to the RC F. That Yamaha V-10-powered machine will be indirectly replaced by an electric supercar previewed by the Electrified Sport Concept.
Toyota’s concept featured a sleek, low-slung look with a stretched hood. Subsequent camouflaged prototypes spotted testing at Motegi and Fuji Speedway in Japan further suggested that something interesting was in the works. The GR GT3 was also spotted a few months ago in Belgium at Spa-Francorchamps, looking far more aggressive than the Lexus version.
As for what will power the flagship sports car, it could be a V8 engine based on the sound the Toyota GR GT3 makes. We can’t hear any engine noise coming from the Lexus since the video was filmed from a distance. However, there does appear to be enough room under the hood for eight cylinders, and perhaps a pair of turbochargers if the rumors are accurate.
Given that the GR GT3 will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2026, logic dictates that Toyota will introduce the race-ready coupe next year. We suspect a road-ready Lexus won’t be long in coming.
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