Toyota GR GT World Premiere： The New V8 Hybrid Supercar Shock

Good morning everyone and thank you for taking the time and the trouble of coming all this way to the Toyota Higashi Fuji plant here in eastern Japan. Now originally this was a press shop and as some of you may know it was the factory where Shoichiro Toyota and Nakamura Kenya created the first century all the way back in 1967. The spirit of invention that was born here is now reborn as the inventor garage of Woven City, a facility for creating the future. Now today will be a celebration not only of invention but of something I know we all love, the celebration of the car, the excitement, the thrill, the love for speed, all things I think everyone in this room and everyone watching online shares a passion for. But as with many things in life a story of strength begins with a story of what's called in Japanese kuyasha. It's a strong word but the nearest is humiliation and I want to tell you all about this from two viewpoints. I've been working as a designer here for 36 years and I can honestly say that as a designer there's nothing more painful than being told that what you put your heart and soul into is boring. 14 years ago at Pebble Beach in America that's what exactly what happened. When Akio was told on his visit there, Lexus is boring. That feeling of humiliation was a turning point and it became a source of determination. After that Akio stood up and made a promise, no more boring cars. So when we went to consult with him about how we should present this car at Pebble Beach this year, you know his answer was very simple, just put it out there, let it speak for itself and that's exactly what we did. With no explanation we let people form their own opinions and I'm pleased to share that at Pebble Beach this year there wasn't one person who said that Lexus was boring. To be innovative, adventurous, original, to help our customers discover this is what Lexus is born to do and with this car we wanted our customers to discover a new level of sensory immersion. The vehicle behind me has meant big breakthroughs, dramatic proportions, packaging innovation, just look at the stance, the rear view, it's just beautiful and it's all under 1200 millimeters in height. For any sports car this is a huge challenge and a huge accomplishment and when this car's finally finished it'll answer Akio's last request and that is to completely redefine the sound of an electric sports car. Now we designed this car to really speak for itself but that's not simply by chance because the car you see here owes its existence to another story and that brings me to the second tale of humiliation, this time on the racetrack. I remember Akio telling me that Nervo Ring 20 years ago he had an experience that he couldn't forget. It wasn't about being overtaken, it wasn't about not coming first, rather that he could see other manufacturers were prioritizing racing. They were using the occasion to nurture not only new technology and new products but to nurture the people who make them. Camouflage prototypes of cars never seen before being put through their paces on the world's most unforgiving track. As a company Toyota at that time wasn't even trying to build a car capable of racing the Nervo Ring. In fact we didn't even have a sports car on sale. So Akio alongside test driver Naruse-san not only ended up driving an old Supra but doing so under the alias of Morizo with his own unknown private racing team Gazoo Racing. Every time he yielded to yet another development prototype it was as if they were saying you guys at Toyota there's no way you could ever build a car like this. Well that was then, will be joined by the all-new Lexus LFA concept here to form the sports car apex for both Lexus and GR. All from one race-bred platform true to GR's promise of pushing the limits for better and contributing to the entire Toyota group and all part of Akio's promise of no more boring cars. Now the GT3 category where these the story of these three cars begins is all about making cars for people who want to win, for professionals and also privateer racers. For everybody it all starts with speed, without speed there's nothing. For the GR GT3 race car, 4 litre V8 twin turbo engine, completely rigid aluminium space frame, an incredibly slow centre of gravity, state-of-the-art aerodynamics, all the critical elements are in place. But speed in itself is not everything. The race is much more than the home straight and the real art is how you control that speed. The real-life situation as our muscle driver Morizo likes to say, it all comes down to kaiwa, the conversation between driver and car. The GT3 is engineered to give you confidence in all situations, to feel reassured that the conversation, even at the limits in the severest of situations, it's all about the car giving you the feedback that you need to guide you in making split-second decisions. Fluent communication, knowing how the car will respond so that there are no misunderstandings. Bringing out the best in your abilities so you can push the car and yourself even further. The GR GT speaks to both types of driver, the professional driver and the recreational driver, whether that's two different people or you and your alter ego. Now an integral part of any conversation with a car is sound, not only during acceleration but deceleration and braking. To understand the importance of this, look no further than 30 minutes drive from here to Fuji Speedway and the transition from the home straight into the first tight corner. To brake as late as possible, deeper, faster and power out with confidence following your ideal line. This may be the first time that we focus not only on the sound a car makes when you put your foot down but the visceral, guttural sound when you take your foot off. The conversation you have on an ordinary street is different. The GR GT road car with the same V8 twin turbo but with hybrid power, shares the DNA of its racing counterpart more than any other car we've ever made. For this, the team worked not only at the limits of a car but at the limits of the development process. Production, car test drivers, working hand in hand with racing drivers. This is a circuit ready, everyday driver. Wild on the track day, easy to drive around town. Take it for a stint at the track, stop at a nice restaurant on the way home. Dynamics, all the way down to minute decisions in seating position, this is a car designed to cover all the bases. Narchio loves motorsports. In a race team, there is no hierarchy. When it comes down to it, everyone is in the pits together. These three cars will work as a team to bring the emotion of driving to both veteran racers and new generation of car lovers. Whether it's the V8 twin turbo in the GR GT3 or the hybrid version in the GR GT, both running on either conventional fuel or e-fuel or an electric future in the LFA. These cars represent a commitment to keep the joy of driving at the limits of human capabilities alive for the next generation. Nurturing technology and people to create a new era of driving euphoria. Just as Narasissan brought his wisdom from the Toyota 2000 GT to the LFA and passed it on to a new generation of test drivers. Ladies and gentlemen, over the last 14 years, not only Lexus and GR but all Toyota group brands have undergone a transformation. The emotional side has come back to the company. Whether that's in terms of driving dynamics, engineering, production or my field of design, there's been a fundamental change in the company mindset. How a car looks, how it feels, it's all subjective. But in the pit, as one team, with Akio as master driver, we have the license to do what needs to be done to translate each car's story into reality. And even though he's pushing 70, this year Akio Toyota went back to where it all began 20 years ago, driving in the 24 hours. And I can guarantee one thing, with these three cars in front of him, he'll not be able to stay away for many years to come. And equally, there was no way he could miss the chance to be here today. Ladies and gentlemen, Akio Toyota. 30 years ago, Narasissan and I, just the two of us, were making cars. Little by little, like-minded members joined the effort, and finally, when the LFA was completed, Narasissan, in a big smile that I've never seen before, said, it's the first time I was able to drive Nurburgring just looking ahead. Till then, we were constantly being overtaken by other cars. Now, we had a car to overtake others. I could feel how truly happy he was. That didn't mean that our kuyashisa, or humiliation, went away. LFA went to volume production, but it was a limited volume production. We started to win races, but it was about becoming first rank in class. There were still many, many cars that were faster than us. I could hear people saying, no way that you guys at Toyota could build a car like this. I will never forget that feeling of humiliation. And that pain is definitely the force that drives me even now. And one day, 15 years ago, suddenly, I succeeded the role of master driver. Narasissan left me with the secret sauce for making cars, the sauce we made from our pain of humiliation. There was another thing that he left me, which were a few fellow colleagues who shared that agony. We used that pain and frustration as our driving force and continued our focus on simply making ever better cars. The GR86, GR Supra, GR Yaris, GR Corolla, the hydrogen engine, Super Taikyu, Nürburgring, and now these cars. At Toyota today, I now have so many like-minded fellow colleagues who are making cars with a shared conviction. To these fellow colleagues, I want to entrust our car making endeavor, and I want to work together with these fellows to make cars so that our secret sauce can be passed on to the future generations. And I hope you can continue to count on us that we will keep you excited. My life has been a continuation of battles. And the role that I found through those battles is to be the last person to protect the others, not my role as president or chairman, but to make sure that my fellow colleagues can evacuate to a safe place so that they will be able to hone their skills and be able to fight back even stronger. I'm the one who will protect them, so make sure that they will be able to have that environment. Morisot will still continue and stay up and running until I fall down. Thank you so much for coming today.