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Toyota wheeled its mighty Gazoo Racing GT street car and race-ready GT3 around Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca Saturday, and the pair performed promisingly. Almost as impressive was the tech within the car that Toyota displayed in its garage on Laguna Seca’s pit row, including a cutaway of the entire drivetrain and a mockup of the giant cast aluminum chassis in which it rides. The new cars come directly from the lineage of performance products like the 2000GT and Lexus LFA. Toyota says the two new models “strive to provide the ultimate driving experience by way of enhanced capabilities centered on three key elements: a low center of gravity, low weight with high rigidity and the pursuit of aerodynamic performance.” The heart of the new cars is a front-mounted dry-sump 4.0-liter V8 that was on display in the garage, nestled in a drivetrain mockup. It featured the 641 hp and 627 lb-ft V8 and its carbon fiber torque tube sending twist to a rear transaxle that includes the hybrid-electric motor. That transaxle case includes a wet-start clutch in place of a torque converter, while the rear end includes a mechanical limited-slip differential as part of the eight-speed rear-mounted transmission. All that helps establish the car’s 45/55 front-to-rear weight balance, with the center of gravity located right at the driver’s knee. That powertrain rides in Toyota’s first first all-aluminum body frame. “A high level of rigidity has been achieved by positioning large aluminium castings in the frame’s main structure, as well as through optimal placement of aluminium extrusions and other components, and the use of advanced joining technologies,” Toyota said. To help save more weight, the cars’ body panels are made of aluminum and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, or CFRP. The suspension features a new, low-mounted double-wishbone system with forged aluminum arms front and rear. Its characteristics were developed from scratch, with a focus on linear response and a high level of controllability, from everyday use to at-the-limit driving. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, developed exclusively for the GR GT. (Lexus driver Jack Hawksworth, on hand in the garage that day, pointed out that the Lexus RC F T3 he drives on the track has a fairly narrow window of controllability. They don’t race it in Pro-Ams for that reason because the Ams couldn’t necessarily handle the twitchiness. But the GR GT and GT3 will operate in a much wider, more controllable window, far more stable.) The GR GT uses Brembo carbon brake discs, developed together with Toyota’s professional drivers. To add to the cars’ safe handling, the GR GT’s Vehicle Stability Control system allows multi-stage adjustment of driving force and braking control, enabling driver selection of the vehicle control difficulty level based on driving skill and weather conditions, for an enjoyable and secure driving experience. This setup is also used in TGR’s Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race vehicles and is an example of technology honed through competing in motorsports. It all adds up. “It’s an important moment for Toyota, and for all of us in this room,” said Andrew Gilliland, senior vice president, Automotive Operations Group, during the presentation at Laguna Seca. “A tremendous amount of passion and effort has gone into GR GT, and the GR GT3, and we hope you can feel every detail.” It’s all part of the new, fun-to-drive Toyota. “We have everything from a GR GT down to an 86, and I am very proud and humbled at this company that we continue to pursue fun-to-drive cars,” he added. Want a GR GT or GT3 for yourself? It won’t just be a matter of walking into your dealer and plopping down a deposit. “We’re not going to have enough to meet demand, and that’s done by design,” Gilliland said. “We want to make sure the right people drive the car. We’re not looking for flippers (those who buy low and immediately sell at obscene profits). I’ll eventually talk to each customer. Literally, I’ll talk to every single person.” So get ready to schmooze Gilliland if you want one of the 250 cars destined for the US. “Say, Andrew, is that a new hat? Looks nice! Ya know, I was just lapping Le Sarthe and I was thinking, ‘If only I had something with Toyota reliability and blah blah blah…” Good luck. Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed the Blue Oval, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.