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Toyota’s brand behind models like the GR Yaris is getting a big change, as Toyota Gazoo Racing transitions to simply ‘Gazoo Racing’.
Toyota Gazoo Racing will transition to simply ‘Gazoo Racing’ by next year as part of a recently announced rebrand.
The move calls into question whether future iterations of Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) models such as the GR Yaris, GR86, and GR Corolla will lose their Toyota badge.
The Gazoo Racing performance brand has been the recipient of a significant marketing push from Toyota Australia in the past 12 months, including entering the GR Supra into the V8 Supercars race series.
Toyota Australia has previously hinted that Australian motorists should expect future developments for the GR brand.
In response to questions about the why the GR Supra was entering the Supercars championship, Sean Hanley, then-head of sales and marketing at Toyota Australia, last year told Drive: “When you see this GR brand evolve over time, I think you'll start to understand why we're here today,”.
It is unclear if the GR brand will gain its own dealerships as part of the changes, as GR models are currently sold and serviced through Toyota dealerships.
Separate dealerships would not be unprecedented for Toyota. The Japanese brand already has standalone dealerships and service centres for its luxury brand Lexus, which arrived in Australia in 1990.
Toyota’s announcement of the new GR brand stated Gazoo Racing’s intention to continue producing “motorsports-bred” vehicles.
Speculation has swirled in the past 12 months regarding possible future GR vehicles nearing announcement, with a GR Celica, a GR MR2, and a successor to the GR Supra all being touted as potential reveals. However, nothing has yet been confirmed by Toyota.
The most recent GR model to be unveiled is the 2027 Toyota GR GT and GR GT3 sports cars, featuring a newly-developed V8 petrol-electric hybrid engine. The GR GT and GR GT3 have not been confirmed for Australia.
The GR GT3 was first revealed in-concept form at the January 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. The 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon offers the next opportunity for Toyota to unveil a new GR vehicle.
The 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon begins January 9 2026 and runs until January 11.
A Toyota Australia spokesperson told Drive: "Toyota Australia is excited about the announcement as GR remains a core focus for us. We continue to work closely with the GAZOO Racing Company to deliver performance-oriented products and experiences for our customers."
Max is the News Publishing Coordinator for Drive. He enjoys creating engaging digital content, including videos, podcasts, interactive maps, and graphs. Prior to Drive, he studied at Monash University and gained experience working for various publications. He grew up playing Burnout 3: Takedown on the PS2 and was disappointed when real life car races didn’t have the same physics.
