GRMN i
John Mahoney29 Aug 2017
NEWS

Toyota plans high performance sub-brand

Performance brand to launch range of new sports cars beginning with the Supra coupe

Toyota is primed to launch an all-new performance sub-brand that will rival Renault Sport and Volkswagen's famous GTI brand.

According to Automotive News, Toyota will introduce its new sports car division as early as next month at a special event in Japan.

The decision to create a new high performance sub-brand, says the US newswire, is an initiative within the Japanese car maker to make cars that are more "emotional and aspirational" rather than "reliable and utilitarian".

A global performance division will also tie together what Toyota is already doing in other markets, like the US-based Toyota Racing Development (TRD), which has already won over respect from performance-car fans.

That said, Automotive News reports it's still not certain the brand and its products will be offered in markets outside of Japan. The first car released by the new sub-brand will be the new Supra early next year.

The move to introduce a new performance car division follows the recent re-organisation of Gazoo Racing Co (GRMN) - Toyota's dedicated global motorsport brand.

It's already been confirmed by Toyota that in the future GRMN would continue to specially tune models in the car maker's line-up following the perceived success of the supercharged Yaris GRMN that's sold in Europe.

Share this article
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.