Toyota's GR GT3 Concept Is The Next Lexus RC

Feb. 27, 2022 4:12 PM ET by Jay Traugott Sports Cars / 3 Comments

Both track and road-going versions are happening.

Those who thought the Lexus RC and RC F are living on borrowed time are sorely mistaken. The current generation, launched for the 2015 model year, is on the way out and the luxury performance brand isn't wasting any time preparing its successor. Last month, Toyota unveiled the GR GT3 concept race car and it was immediately evident it wasn't based on an existing production model, such as the GR Supra. That's because the production model doesn't exist yet.

Car and Driver has confirmed with Toyota Racing Development (TRD) president David Wilson that the concept will serve as the basis for a new GT3 motorsport entry race car as well as a road-going RC successor. What's particularly exciting about the project is that it's being designed for track competition from the get-go instead of the other way around, which is currently the situation.

"What we've all come to learn is that's not the way you bring a GT3 car to market," Wilson said in reference to the current RC F GT3 race car. "Before you put your first line on paper, you decide you're going to race that car and that shapes the design parameters, the performance parameters of that production car."

Perhaps the RC F GT3's biggest drawback is weight, tipping the scale at 2,866 pounds, about 1,000 pounds less than the stock RC F. The RC's successor will no doubt be lighter, at least in track form, and that technology will certainly trickle down to the eventual road-going version.

Wilson, nor anyone else at TRD or Lexus, provided an expected launch date but it's fair to assume something will appear by 2025. Design-wise, the concept will serve as the basis for the road car and we're being told that Toyota's Gazoo Racing division will begin testing prototypes by the end of this year. The prototype will be powered by a combustion engine, evidenced by the concept's side exhaust, but the production version will be a hybrid.

No other details are available just yet but the countdown clock to the next RC is absolutely underway.