Desertnate
Well-known member
- Aug 5, 2013
- 6,250
- 298
So Derek0609 and I were talking today about the GR badge on the car (Gazoo Racing) and I said that they may be trying to get the brand out there, anyone have thoughts on this? I mean they already have TRD which is very well established, why not use IT?
Gazoo Racing is the Toyota buisness line which runs all of their factory sponsored racing programs around the world, i.e. their LMP1 car in the WEC, the WRC rally car, and (one I didn't know about) a GT-Class, LC-based car they raced in the 24hrs of Nurburgring. From what I understand the Gazoo Racing team had a hand in the body design and tuning of the Supra after they got the platform from BMW. I think they are trying to show the Supra is a legitimate sports car tightly integrated into their motorsports program (seen by the ability to turn fake vents into real ones), vs simply being associated with the TRD brand which is mostly a line of mild factory performance accessories you get at the dealer parts counter.
I would be very surprised if we don't seen a Supra running in GT-class racing in Asia and/or Europe. It might even be the basis for Toyota's future efforts in the top class of WEC racing when the LMP1 cars go away, which they have already committed to.
Also someone earlier mentioned that they didn't like the Lexus RC500 and I know its your opinion but that car hurts my neck everytime I see one! IMO its a concept car for the road and the only thing I CAN NOT STAND are the 21" wheels that come on the V8 model, they are ghastly....so ghastly that if I bought that car it wouldn't leave the lot with them on, I'd have a set of nice HRE's sent to the dealership and have them installed, my God are those wheels hideous, hell, the hybrid V6 model has nicer lookin' rims, why is so hard to come up with nice rims for a stunning car like that???
Do you mean the LC500? Yes, I too think it's a fantastic looking car. I don't think I'd want to take it to the track or a back-road blast through tight mountain roads, but it would be a perfect platform for a long road trip. The wheels don't bother me at all in any size. The design of the car is very concept-ish, like you mention, but I think a set of HRE's or something similar would be too traditional of a design and clash with the overall persona of the car...at least to my eyes, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and very personal. The car is a neck-snapper no matter how you slice it.