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According to Carscoops, Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division has no plans to introduce any electric sports car models in the near future. Akio Toyoda, the company’s president, recently expressed his views on sports cars, which may have signaled the end of any prospects for a pure electric Toyota GR model.
In an interview with Auto News, Akio Toyoda was asked if he could envision a future where Toyota produces a pure electric racing or sports car.
“There will always be Toyota personnel passionate about developing pure electric sports cars. However, as a master racer, my definition of a sports car is something with the smell of gasoline and a noisy engine,” shared President Akio Toyoda.
The president’s statement seemingly crushes any hopes for the Japanese automaker to release a production version of the Toyota FT-Se concept, which was unveiled in 2023. Many believed this would be the new Toyota MR2, featuring an electric powertrain. Instead, Toyota is likely to equip the next-generation MR2 with a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
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The next-generation Toyota MR2 will not feature an electric powertrain. Image source: ReDriven. |
Despite his expressed preference for gasoline engines, President Akio Toyoda has not entirely shut the door on electric vehicles.
He acknowledges that, given the right conditions, an electric sports car is feasible. The grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda’s only caveat is that such a car needs to be affordable.
“Toyota is a mainstream brand, so we also need to consider affordability for customers, even with pure electric vehicles. When Toyota is able to offer an affordable pure electric vehicle, I, as a master racer, will definitely introduce a sports car with an electric powertrain,” stated President Akio Toyoda.
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President Akio Toyoda is not interested in electric sports cars. Image source: Toyota. |
Akio Toyoda finds electric racing cars uninteresting, mainly because they cannot complete a full lap of a race track in less than an hour.
“The races I participate in are mostly endurance races. So with the current BEVs, the competition is not on the track but in charging time, battery swapping, or something similar,” shared Akio Toyoda with Auto News.
The current president of Toyota has assigned the task of developing electric racing cars to his successor. Akio Toyoda also believes that his son, Daisuke, is a better racer than himself.
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