Mystery New Toyota Sports Coupe And Racecar Twin Bows At Goodwood FOS

At this year’s edition of the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) event held last weekend in the UK, Japanese automaker Toyota made a surprise debut with two mysterious new machines.

Adding to the fanfare here the presence of three-time Le Mans winner Kazuki Nakajima, Daisuke Toyoda – son of chairman Akio Toyoda – plus both Hass F1 drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman to pilot both cars during the festival.

Toyota kept tight-lipped about model name and engine specifications, even electing to run both cars for the festival’s signature hillclimb under heavy camouflage.

Haas F1 drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman with the mysterious 'Toyota GT Concept' (left) and its 'Toyota GT Racing Concept' twin (right) at Goodwood last weekend.

What is obvious here is the fact that one of the two, which the automaker reportedly presented as the ‘Toyota GT Concept’, stands as a preview of an upcoming flagship production sportscar model that’s set to debut very soon.

Obvious here too is the other machine that ran alongside is a racecar ‘twin’, likely in GT3 spec too – evident through touches like the massive rear wing, and its apt ‘Toyota GT Racing Concept’ naming presented.

With the new road-going sportscar, speculation is rife as to what badge Toyota will christen it under. It will either be launched under it Lexus luxury marque or its arguably more exciting Gazoo Racing (GR) performance sub-brand.

As the Goodwood FOS commentators put it, the new model is poised to become “the new flagship sports road car from the Toyota Motor Corporation,” further fuelling speculations as to what could bear either the Lexus or GR emblems when launched.

From the featured video above showing both ‘concepts’ tackling the signature hillclimb at Goodwood, our best guess here is that both the road-going new model and its racecar twin are likely powered by a new V8 engine, though don't take our word for it just yet.

Both new concepts from Toyota wowed plenty of spectators at Goodwood last weekend.

As for the roadcar’s design, the traditional yet attractive coupe proportions, featuring a long front and short rear overhang, holds some parallel with Toyota’s last halo coupe sportscar, by which we mean the Lexus LFA.

Speaking of which, one rife speculation suggests this new sportscar could debut as the rumoured ‘Lexus LFR’, with said naming indicating its status as a spiritual successor to the acclaimed V10-engined halo model mentioned.

The 'Toyota GT Racing Concept' could soon complement the title-winning Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar pictured in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

With the racecar concept specifically, we could see it enter the LMGT3 class of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) as a complement to the automaker’s existing title-winning Hypercar programme.

For now, your guess is as good as ours as to what the road-going car will be called, what badge it will bear, and what powertrain it adopts. You can share your best guesses in the comments below…