Toyota opened a new GR Garage Experience Center near its facility in Plano, Texas, showcasing nearly 70 years of the automaker's motorsports history. The collection spans from a 1957 Toyopet Crown that competed in the Mobilgas Round Australia Rally to current race cars like the GR Corolla TC and GR86 Cup Car.
The 1957 Crown finished 47th overall and third among foreign entries in the Australian endurance event, exposing weaknesses Toyota would address in future vehicles. Carroll Shelby developed three 2000GT race cars for SCCA competition in 1968, with the 2.0-liter inline-six producing roughly 200 horsepower. Scooter Patrick finished second in the C-Production championship driving the No. 33 car.
An IMSA GTO Celica, developed by Dan Gurney's All American Racers, used a tube-frame chassis and a turbocharged inline-four producing as much as 600 horsepower. Chris Cord and Toyota captured the 1987 IMSA GTO drivers' and manufacturers' championships.
Ivan Stewart's red-and-white Toyota trucks, built by Precision Preparation Inc., earned him 84 victories and 10 championships, including 17 Baja 500 wins and three Baja 1000 victories. The Eagle MkIII prototype, also developed by All American Racers, featured a turbocharged inline-four producing more than 800 horsepower. With Juan Manuel Fangio II driving, it helped Toyota win consecutive IMSA GTP manufacturers' championships in 1992 and 1993, at one point winning 17 consecutive races.
The Lexus LFA participated in Gazoo Racing's endurance program at the Nürburgring. A Nürburgring Package version, limited to 50 examples, lapped the circuit in 7:14.64 in 2011. The Toyota TS040 hybrid prototype combined a 3.7-liter V-8 with electric motors producing approximately 1000 horsepower, winning the World Endurance Championship manufacturers' and drivers' titles in 2014.
The Lexus RC F GT3, powered by a 5.4-liter V-8, helped Vasser Sullivan Racing capture the 2023 GTD Pro championship with victories at Watkins Glen and Long Beach, followed by a class victory at the 2024 12 Hours of Sebring. The GR Supra GT4 uses the road car's 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six, producing approximately 430 horsepower. The GR86 Cup Car, built for Toyota's single-make series that began in 2023, retains the production model's 2.4-liter flat-four engine but uses a six-speed sequential gearbox. The GR Corolla TC for SRO's TC America championship uses the production car's 300-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine and all-wheel-drive system with the eight-speed automatic transmission.