Toyota surprises Goodwood with the GT Concept and GT Racing concept

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is one of the most prestigious events held around the world where manufacturers flock to show off cars from the past and present, and to also demonstrate them at the famous 1.9km hillclimb up the Duke of Richmond’s estate in the UK.

Toyota is one of those brands that you’d naturally expect to be there, given its extensive history, but the automaker has stunned everyone by bringing two very secret cars to the hillclimb without prior announcement—the GT Racing Concept and the GT Concept.

If you remember, Toyota Gazoo Racing revealed the GR GT3 Concept back at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon as a replacement for the Lexus RC F GT3 cars that they’ve been fielding in the GT3 class of the World Endurance Championship.

We haven’t heard about anything since then, until we saw the camouflage concept pop up at the hillclimb, complete with the massive ducktail spoiler and aggressive aero.

And as for the GT Concept, it’s no surprise that a road-going model is in the works, as homologation rules require that the GT3 entry must be based on an actual production vehicle.

We don’t know anything about these two cars, other than the fact that the long, very slender hood and GT-like proportions position this as a flagship model. And if you can take a listen to the vehicle as it climbs up Goodwood, the throaty burble of a V8 engine is very distinct.

Now, one more aspect that’s confusing about the production vehicle is that we don’t know if it will be badged as a Lexus or a Toyota Gazoo Racing model, as spy shots of a certain Lexus car with similar proportions have been spotted in the United States, and people are calling it the “LFR” as it’s touted to be the successor to the V10-powered LFA halo car.

Since the car is expected to race in 2026, we won’t be surprised if Toyota or Lexus pulls off the covers of these vehicles at this year’s Japan Mobility Show, scheduled to happen in late October.

^{Photos from Goodwood Festival of Speed and Toyota}