Toyota GT Concept at Goodwood – mysterious V8 sports car to spawn GT3 version, wear Lexus badge?

Most carmakers telegraphed their debuts at the Goodwood Festival of Speed well in advance, but not Toyota. Its surprise reveal over the weekend was a proper statement of intent – a mysterious camouflaged sports car simply called the Toyota GT Concept, followed closely by a racing version dubbed, you guessed it, the GT Racing Concept.

The road-going model has been seen in countless spyshots for the better part of a year, whereas the racer was previewed by the GR GT3 Concept back during the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. The prototypes were piloted by former F1 driver and three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Kazuki Nakajima, chairman Akio Toyoda’s son Daisuke and Haas F1 drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman over the course of the weekend.

The mysterious #Toyota GT Concept. Destined to be the new flagship sports road car for Toyota, followed by the brand new GT racing concept. These two took on the #FOS Hill together creating a harmonious sound for the first time ever in front of crowds, piloted by three-time… pic.twitter.com/F4oSIhqdEr

— Goodwood FOS (@fosgoodwood) July 10, 2025

There are absolutely no details released so far, but the noises the cars make in various videos suggest they will be powered by a V8. This, along with the long nose, cab-backward design and large front fender vents bring to mind the original Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG as well as the AMG GT.

Despite the names of the cars, both are likely to wear the Lexus badge instead, given the premium brand’s track record of producing big-engined sports cars. Reports indicate that they will be christened the LFR and be the spiritual successor to the legendary LFA, albeit with twin turbos instead of that car’s howling naturally-aspirated V10.

Goodwood’s official commentators suggested as much, saying that the new model is “destined to become the new flagship sports road car from the Toyota Motor Corporation,” rather than from the Toyota brand itself. Don’t discount the latter from becoming a reality, however, what with the conglomerate likely looking to draw parallels with its successful (Toyota-badged) endurance racing exploits.

Speaking of which, the GT3 car will likely join the World Endurance Championship (WEC) to complement Toyota’s championship-winning Hypercar programme. Could we see total domination by the Japanese firm?

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