Toyota’s Gazoo Racing and Toyota Racing divisions built these wild Camry project cars

Remember the feud between the two divisions within Toyota—Gazoo Racing and Toyota Racing—that started at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon with two highly modified kei trucks? Well, the “third round” of the three-round fight has come to a close as at this year’s Fuji 24 Hours, where the two divisions would take to customize a Toyota Camry to see who would win out, based on fan votes.

But why the Camry, specifically? A few months ago, Toyota announced that it would be selling the Camry again in Japan, only this time, sourced from Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant, in a bid to improve Japan-US trade relations. In fact, the Camry is a left-hand drive model, as it’s perfectly legal to drive within the country.

Now, just what did the two divisions do? You can watch the full livestream here if you know your Japanese, but in a nutshell, they took two very different approaches to customizing these Camrys, with Gazoo Racing’s approach a little more unique, presented by none other than Akio Toyoda himself.

While the Camry’s wide body kit with large fender flares and a huge wing at the back may appear plain, the magic is inside. Underneath the hood no longer lies the 2.5-liter hybrid powertrain, but instead, the 1.6-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder from the GR Yaris/Corolla, the G16E-GTS, lies within, and it just powers the front wheels.

Where the rear seats are normally found lies a second engine, which is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine codenamed the G20E, that was previewed at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon and will be making its way to future GR vehicles. This rear engine powers the rear wheels and has crazy side exit exhausts.

Essentially, this Camry has seven cylinders and all-wheel drive, and would make for one hell of a race car if this skunkworks project is to be pursued.

As for Toyota Racing’s entry, well, the bōsōzoku-inspired build (essentially outlaw gangs with extremely flamboyant vehicles that started in the ‘50s) was presented by Toyota Racing chairman Hiroki Nakajima.

This one takes the “hammerhead” concept of Toyota’s current design, but takes it to the next level by stretching it, quite literally, all the way to an extreme level. Underneath the hood is the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder G20E with a right-hand drive conversion, but Toyota Racing’s concept is more style-oriented.

Behind the incredibly long rear wing and large rear diffuser are quad exhaust tips that exit above the vehicle, and the interior is inspired by “Kentucky Whiskey” and is peak American flamboyancy, or at least what the Japanese think of it that way.

There is an 80s-inspired digital instrument cluster, psychedelic bright green trim accents, a glass knob shifter with liquid that resembles a highball drink, Cuban cigars in the middle, and a chandelier inside with speakers within the rear seats.

If anything, these projects show that the company knows how to have fun, and also has its two divisions produce crazy skunkworks projects that push engineering limits further.

^{Screenshots from Toyota Gazoo Racing}