What is GR in Toyota?

What’s the difference between a Toyota TRD and a Toyota GR model? Is there a difference between these two names?

Why does Toyota have a pair of sub-brand development teams for their vehicles? These are all decent questions to ask, and lately, we’ve seen both the TRD and the GR letterings added to different cars, trucks, and SUVs in the Toyota lineup. Well, actually, what we haven’t seen is the GR name added to any trucks or SUVs, which might shed a little more light on what the GR name is used for when it comes to Toyota performance.

It’s All in the Name

The GR lettering stands for GazooRacing. That alone doesn’t mean much at all, but there’s more. This racing team is a performance offshoot of Toyota that has been entering vehicles in the World Endurance Championship, the World Rally Championship, and other racing series around the world. Akio Toyoda started this sub-brand before he became the president of the company. It began as a skunkworks project and has grown to be used for some of the most impressive performance models to come out of this brand. This might explain why we see this name on the performance cars and not on other models.

As a differentiator, the TRD name stands for Toyota Racing Development, which is the longstanding tuning and racing arm of the brand. The job of the TRD team is to take the standard models that are offered and turn them into something more. This means taking the trucks and SUVs and making them impressive off-road machines or taking the sedans and tuning them up for better handling and performance. Sometimes we see these models with more power, but that’s not always part o the formula for the TRD team.

Gazoo Racing Offers More than We Know

In the United States, we know of two models that currently wear the GR name. These are the Supra and 86. All three are built for performance and fun. When you get away from the lineup we have, there are several other models that have been built wearing this name. There was the Mark X GRMN which was a rear-wheel-drive, V6-powered car that was the same size as the Avalon. This car used a limited-slip differential and a six-speed manual to give drivers performance that could easily reach into the realm of the BMW M5.

This team is currently working on a GR Super Sport concept which will be a 986-horsepower hybrid hypercar that will be added to the racing teams that are ready to take on Le Mans and other WEC events. Outside of the US, the GR name is also part of the Yaris and CH-R, which does give us one SUV that wears this name. The new GR Yaris is a wicked hatchback that takes a boring car and makes it a truly impressive hot hatch that could be a lot of fun in any market.

A GR GT3 Concept is Unveiled

A new concept car shows the commitment the Toyota GR team has for building cars that are ideal for motorsport racing. The new GT3 Concept is a car that shows how this team promotes the development of performance and fun in the motorsports world. This new GR model is made to compete in the GT3 class of racing, making it a car that could be capturing a checkered flag in the near future.

The Cars We Know

Toyota GR86

The Toyota 86 was not made for the 2021 model year, which gave Gazoo Racing a chance to get their hands on this dynamic little gem. The addition of the Toyota GR name to this car makes it more impressive, allows it to perform better on the track, and it gives us a car that we want to drive even more than we did before.

The latest version of this roadster brings in a larger engine which is a new 2.4-liter flat four-cylinder engine that pumps out 228 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. This might not sound like a ton of power, but it’s more than before and more than enough to make this car rip off some fast laps.

Power from the engine is routed to the wheels through either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission to give you the shifting you need. You’ll also find a standard limited-slip differential and amazing brakes that ensure you can push hard on the gas and control the corners the right way when you drive the GR86.

Toyota GR Supra

When the Supra returned to the market, it brought the Toyota GR name along with it to give us a thrilling RWD sports car that has the power and performance we desire. For the 2022 model year, this car is available with either a turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a turbocharged six-cylinder power plant to give you the power you want to experience.

What will you find when you step into this car? The GR Supra is an extremely poised performance machine that gives you the drive that makes this car right on the road or track. In fact, if you want to see what this car is made of, you’ll want to take it to the track and see how quickly it can make the run for you.

If you have the smaller engine, you’ll experience a car with 255 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque for the drive. The six-cylinder engine gives you 382 horsepower and 368 lb.-ft. of torque for the drive.

When you want a bit more for the drive, the A91-CF Edition is the version of the Toyota GR Supra you want to drive. This version gives you carbon-fiber trim for the front, sides, and rear of the vehicle. You’ll also find a small carbon-fiber rear spoiler and matte-black 19-inch alloy wheels.

Now that you know what the Toyota GR name means, will you look for a Toyota with this name on it or one that wears the TRD badge? Both can give you excellent performance results but in very different ways.