On November 27 televisions in Japan began airing a commercial that teases Toyota’s next supercar. The spot opens with a Toyota 2000GT, followed by a Lexus LFA, followed by a sleek black sports car. The words “The Soul Lives On” appears on screen as the cars speed down a banked track. Turns out, this location reveals a hint toward the car’s purpose.
The 2000GT in the video wears the yellow and green livery of the famed speed trial car that set 13 FIA world speed and endurance records in 1966, prompting Porsche to retaliate in 1967 with the new 911R. The 72-hour trial was conducted at Yatabe Proving Ground, owned by the Japan Automobile Research Institute, in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Yatabe was relocated to nearby Shirosato, Ibaraki in 2005, and this is where Toyota’s commercial was filmed. Interestingly, Toyota has built two of its own multi-million dollar test tracks, in Shimoyama, Aichi Prefecture and Shibetsu, Hokkaido Prefecture. Choosing the spiritual successor of Yatabe as the location for this shoot was likely a way to pay tribute to the 2000GT’s accomplishment and the birth of Toyota’s global performance car heritage.
As for the new supercar, Toyota also released an image of three silhouettes on December 2. The middle car is is likely the roadgoing version of the GR GT in the commercial. The one on the right is likely the GT3 race car it was homologated for. We’ve seen camouflaged versions of both at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It’s presumed that both will be powered by some sort of twin-turbo V8, possibly with a hybrid system derived from Toyota’s Le Mans-winning GR010.
The car on the left shares the taillight signature of the Lexus Sports Concept revealed in August. It has been called the LFA successor, and will almost certainly use some sort of electrified powertrain. The ad and the teaser image herald a press conference (livestream below) that will reveal at least one of the cars in Japan on December 5.
