Toyota GR performance car range complete with GR86, Corolla, Yaris and Supra, says chief engineer

Toyota’s family of Gazoo Racing (GR) performance cars is complete – for the immediate future – according to the engineer behind its most affordable member, the GR86 sports car.

When asked if there are any more high-performance models planned under the Toyota GR brand after the current quartet, Toyota GR86 chief engineer Yasunori Suezawa told Drive through a translator: “There is none left actually, so this [the GR86] is the last.”

The GR cars belong to the middle tier of the Gazoo Racing sub-brand’s range – above the GR Sport range, which applies styling and mild suspension changes to standard cars, and the GRMN vehicles, which are exclusive, track-focused limited editions above the GR models.

“For the GR [performance brand], basically this [the GR86] is the last. But we have a GR Sport [brand] that we will be [widening] with models like the Corolla, Yaris Cross and C-HR,” Suezawa-san said.

The GR86 chief engineer’s comments cast doubt on rumours out of Japan and the US in recent months of additional GR models, from a sedan – which may be based on the Corolla – to a compact mid-engined sports car co-developed with Suzuki and Daihatsu.

Toyota executives have already ruled out an SUV – at least initially, and from the full GR performance brand, rather than under the GR Sport styling-pack moniker.

However, Suezawa-san does not specify whether the GR range is complete for the time being only – or for the long term, opening the door for more models closer to the middle of the decade, such as a new electric sports car rumoured in Japanese magazine Best Car.

As for the models in showrooms today, the GR Supra is expected to remain on sale until 2025 or 2026, when production is slated to end in Australia – alongside its BMW Z4 sibling.

The Toyota GR86 may follow the first-generation 86 with a 10-year life cycles – while the GR Corolla and Yaris may follow the life cycles of their standard counterparts, ending production in their current forms in about 2024 and 2025 respectively.