• Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division hints via a teaser image at a GR Prius on the way.
• The high-performance version of the new Prius could be shown, in concept form, at the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
The newly redesigned Toyota Prius hybrid car has gotten widespread acclaim for several of its qualities, but mostly because it looks so darn good. The 2023 Prius is one pretty car. Now imagine a GR Prius performance variant.
That mouth-watering prospect has been raised by Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division via a teaser image that hints at a rollout of a new GR model at this year’s centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That’s taking place on June 10-11, so in two weeks.
Alongside the image, Gazoo Racing confirms it will be presenting a concept car “equipped with vehicle technologies that have been developed through numerous challenges in motorsports participation” at Le Mans.
The image itself offers a few clues as to the Toyota model this new concept will be based on. The front bumper is similarly contoured and features the same sensor placements. Unlike the new Prius hatchback version, however, the concept features two sets of four LED foglights, canards on the flanks and a bigger front splitter. Still, those differences would be in keeping with modifications made to a GR performance edition. And recall that the new head of Toyota, Koji Sato just recently confirmed that we can expect more GR models to come.
If this is indeed a GR Prius, it could be a trial balloon to gauge reaction, which could decide whether a production version is greenlit or not.
Stay tuned.