Toyota Pushes Future Tech at Super Taikyu Autopolis with GR Yaris DAT and GR86 Future FR Concepts
Toyota Motor Corporation is actively participating in the ENEOS Super Taikyu Series 2025 Empowered by BRIDGESTONE Round 5 Super Taikyu Race at Autopolis, held from July 26 to 27. Their involvement goes beyond mere competition; it's a strategic move to push the boundaries of automotive technology, particularly in the realm of carbon-neutral solutions and advanced transmissions, through the crucible of endurance racing.
Toyota's Entries at Autopolis
Toyota Gazoo ROOKIE Racing (TG-RR) has entered two significant concept cars in the ST-Q class, a special category for approved racing vehicles that don't fit into other conventional classes, allowing for experimental technologies:
#32 TGRR GR Yaris DAT (Direct Automatic Transmission) Concept: This car is a highlight of Toyota's efforts to develop and refine advanced automatic transmissions for high-performance vehicles.
DAT Technology: The GR Yaris DAT features an all-new eight-speed Gazoo Racing Direct Automatic Transmission. This advanced gearbox is engineered for rapid, responsive shifting, allowing drivers to focus more on steering and throttle input, especially in dynamic scenarios. Unlike conventional automatics, its predictive software anticipates gear changes based on driver behavior, ensuring intuitive and performance-oriented shifts.
Nürburgring Specifications: The #32 GR Yaris DAT competing at Autopolis uses the same specifications as the car that participated in the grueling 24 Hours Nürburgring in Germany in June 2025. This indicates that Toyota is using knowledge gained from one of the world's toughest endurance races to further refine its Super Taikyu entry, aiming to feed this development back into production vehicles.
Ongoing Development: Toyota has been refining the GR Yaris DAT's performance on various courses, including races and rallies, and began competing with it in the Super Taikyu series in 2025 as part of its continuous development towards evolving the production vehicle.
#28 TGRR GR86 Future FR Concept: This entry showcases Toyota's commitment to exploring carbon-neutral fuel options in internal combustion engines.
Low-Carbon Gasoline (E20): The #28 GR86 runs on low-carbon gasoline (E20) manufactured by ENEOS Corporation. This demonstrates Toyota's multi-pathway approach to achieving carbon neutrality, which includes developing and testing various alternative fuels alongside hydrogen and electric powertrains.
Endurance Racing as a Testbed: Toyota views endurance racing like Super Taikyu as a crucial testing ground for these future technologies, allowing them to gather valuable data on performance, durability, and reliability under extreme conditions. Toyota previously competed with this GR86 running on low-carbon gasoline in the ENEOS Super Taikyu Series 2025 Empowered by BRIDGESTONE Round 3 NAPAC Fuji 24 Hours Race in May.
The Super Taikyu Series:
Endurance Racing Championship: The Super Taikyu Series (officially "ENEOS Super Taikyu Series Empowered by BRIDGESTONE") is a Japanese endurance racing championship that began in 1991.
Pro-Am Format: It's a pro-am series, meaning it features a mix of professional and amateur drivers.
Diverse Car Classes: The series includes multiple classes of vehicles, ranging from commercially available racing cars (like GT3, GT4, and TCR cars) to minimally modified production vehicles. The ST-Q class, where Toyota's concept cars compete, is specifically for approved racing vehicles that don't fit into other categories, allowing for experimental technologies.
Sustainability Focus: Super Taikyu has been increasingly integrating sustainable practices, including the use of synthetic and renewable fuels, making it an ideal platform for Toyota's carbon-neutral efforts.
True Test of Endurance: Races can last up to 24 hours, making it a rigorous test of teamwork, consistency, vehicle durability, and the resilience of the technologies being tested.
Toyota's Broader Carbon Neutrality Efforts through Motorsports:
Toyota's participation in Super Taikyu with these specific vehicles is part of a larger strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by:
Multi-Pathway Approach: Exploring various energy options, including hydrogen combustion engines (as seen in their GR Corolla H2 concept), carbon-neutral fuels for internal combustion engines, and hybrid electric vehicles.
Accelerated Development: Using the demanding environment of motorsports to rapidly identify problems and develop solutions, accelerating the refinement of future technologies.
Generating Partnerships: Collaborating with companies like ENEOS to produce, transport, and utilize carbon-neutral fuels.
"Ever-Better Cars": Ensuring that technological advancements derived from racing are fed back into the development of production vehicles, aiming to create more exciting and sustainable cars for consumers.
In essence, Toyota's presence at the Super Taikyu Autopolis race with the GR Yaris DAT and GR86 Future FR Concept is a clear demonstration of its commitment to pushing automotive innovation, particularly in the areas of transmission technology and sustainable fuels, using the intense crucible of endurance racing as its proving ground.
