TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) announced today that it is exhibiting at the three-day Tokyo Auto Salon 2025*1 being held at Makuhari Messe (in Chiba, Japan) from January 10 (today) to 12, 2025, mainly displaying vehicles and vehicle parts under the main theme of "Car-making at Nürburgring", which is the starting point of TGR and Chairman Akio Toyoda, aka Master Driver Morizo.

This year, along with Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd., TGR is exhibiting at Makuhari Messe's North Hall. TGR's booth will include the "LAND CRUISER BASE" display for promoting the fun of customizing the Toyota Land Cruiser, hitherto put on by Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd. This coming together by members of the Toyota Group aims to boost excitement at Tokyo Auto Salon 2025.

During the event's three days, TGR plans to hold talk sessions featuring drivers, engineers, and others, as well as outdoor vehicle demo runs. Detailed information on the talk sessions, the demo runs, exhibited vehicles, and others can be found on the following special website.

Main vehicles and other exhibited items at Tokyo Auto Salon 2025

From 2025, TGR and ROOKIE Racing intend to compete in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS) and the Super Taikyu Series as a united "TOYOTA GAZOO ROOKIE Racing (TGRR)". The new team plans to mark Toyota's return to the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race after a six-year hiatus, entering with the evolved GR Yaris, which made its world debut at Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 and is equipped with the newly developed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission. In 2024, numerous drivers, including Morizo and professional drivers, worked to prepare their Nürburgring entry vehicle by test-driving the GR Yaris on various roads both in Japan and abroad, including those of the Nürburgring circuit. The team seeks to hone its people and cars at the Nürburgring, the starting place of Morizo and TGR.

To further explore the potential of the GR Yaris, TGRR plans to compete in the Super Taikyu Series in the GR YARIS M Concept, which features an underdevelopment, midship-mounted, 2.0-liter, inline 4-cylinder, turbocharged engine. The team aims to implement "driver-first" carmaking, in which cars are repeatedly driven to failure and then repaired in the extreme conditions of racing and in which feedback from Morizo, professional drivers, and gentleman drivers is thoroughly incorporated.

The GR YARIS Aero Package is a concept vehicle equipped with performance aerodynamic parts that have been developed together with professional drivers through an uncompromising approach to achieving targeted performance by addressing every single issue encountered during racing and circuit evaluations. The vehicle features six such parts, including a variable rear wing with a situation-responsive adjustable angle, and not only pursues enhanced aerodynamic performance and handling stability but also exerts an eye-catching presence in terms of styling. It also has a vertical handbrake, which is available as a popular factory-installed option for the RC trim level of the evolved GR Yaris released last year.

4. GR86 software upgrades

Since its launch in 2021, the GR86 has been well-received by many customers as a car with the unique driving feel of a GR vehicle. Its partial upgrade in 2024 reflects learnings from various motorsports in which the GR86 continues to compete. Based on feedback from professional drivers who hone cars in the extreme environment of racing, the throttle characteristics were modified (in manual transmission vehicles) and the engine-speed tolerance range during downshifting was expanded (in automatic transmission vehicles) to improve acceleration response and enable quicker downshifts, resulting in the further refinement of the unique driving feel of a GR vehicle. To enable pre-upgrade GR86 owners to experience this evolved driving performance, software upgrades "GR86 PERFORMANCE SOFTWARE for MT" / "GR86 PERFORMANCE SOFTWARE for AT" are to be sold*2 through GR Garage locations from the spring of 2025. So that those who continue to drive the GR86 can enjoy it for many years to come, TGR intends to continue supporting the evolution of its customers' beloved cars.

Software upgrade details

Engine torque control has been modified for easier blipping, which is often required in motorsports. Also, throttle control has been adopted to obtain a more direct response to accelerator operation, improving ease of handling at the upper limits of performance.

Responding to requests from customers who participate in motorsports with automatic transmission vehicles, the engine-speed tolerance range during downshifting has been expanded, enabling sporty driving supported by a wider torque band.

Circuit Mode is a service that enables functions that bring out a car's potential, such as by adding anti-lag control and raising the speed limit of the speed limiter, at service-eligible circuits and facilities in Japan. GPS location determination and operation using a dedicated app switches the vehicle's instrument panel to a dedicated gauge display that intuitively shows shift timing and engine rpms, enabling the use of Circuit Mode.

In response to customer requests since the service's launch on August 21, 2024, to be able to enjoy Circuit Mode in a variety of motorsports, the number of eligible circuits and facilities was increased today from the hitherto 50 to 77, centering on facilities where gymkhana and dirt trials can be enjoyed.

For details on eligible circuits and facilities, available features, etc., please see the following:

6. GR Parts

TGR strives to quickly provide its customers with parts that leverage knowledge gained through racing. Sales of the following items for various vehicle models are to start in succession.

• For the GR Yaris

• For the GR86