Key Takeaways
- Lexus and Gazoo Racing will jointly develop new models at their new in-house test facility.
- The Technical Center Shimoyama features a 3.3-mile Nurburgring-like track and areas for specialized global testing.
- At least two Lexus models with Gazoo Racing influence are under consideration.
Yesterday, Lexus announced that the newest section of Toyota Motor Corporation’s R&D center, the Technical Center Shimoyama, was complete, and there were snippets of the press release that jumped out at us. Among them was a full paragraph discussing how Lexus and Gazoo Racing would use the facility to “jointly develop new models” for each brand.
This is intriguing because since the Toyota GR GT3 Concept was revealed at the start of 2022, rumors of this V8-powered vehicle arriving with a Lexus badge have swirled online, spurred on by images of just such a vehicle at a Lexus dealer event. On the more attainable end of the spectrum, the GR-fettled Lexus LBX RR is all but confirmed for production. Combine those details with the fact that the new facility has its own private racetrack, and a GR-badged Lexus (or an RC F with GR GT3 DNA) seems imminent.
What Is This Racetrack You Speak Of?
In 2019, Toyota announced that it had built its own test track a year after breaking ground on the Shimoyama facility in April 2018. Working with the natural topography of the area, the central area of the facility includes a 3.3-mile track built to emulate the conditions of the Nurburgring, with some 246 feet worth of elevation changes. For high-speed testing, the eastern section of the proving ground was then built, with very few bends, all of which are sweeping. This will enable hours of high-speed evaluation on end.
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There’s also a very long, very straight strip for pure acceleration and braking tests, as well as another area that has more specialized test courses, including some designed to replicate road conditions around the world. All of these sections will allow Toyota to test its vehicles without having to fit in with a Nurburgring industry pool schedule and without nosy photographers spying on what’s meant to remain under wraps. More importantly, Toyota promised that it would develop cars for motorsport first and let the road biases follow. This track, like Ferrari’s Fiorano, will make that possible.
The Latest Developments
Toyota did the important stuff first, and now it’s built the western section of the facility, which includes a visitor center designed to host business partners and suppliers when there are research or development challenges. Clearly, the focus of the whole place is on building better cars, with employees “from all areas, including planning and design, development, and construction, as well as prototyping and evaluation” working together in one place.
“Around 3,000 people, including test drivers from Lexus and Gazoo Racing as well as members of the development team, will drive, repair, and continually improve new vehicles here. The more we drive these cars, the better they get. As a Master Driver, I’m personally really looking forward to spending a lot of time on the streets of Shimoyama. Even though this location is not a production facility, the cars from Shimoyama will bring a smile to many people’s faces on roads around the world.”
– Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda
“It has been almost 30 years since we began conceiving this project,” commented Toyoda. “We will do everything we can to ensure that our new development center makes every resident here in the region happy and that everyone is happy that Toyota has come to Shimoyama. This includes not only people but also the plants and animals that have been living here for much longer.”
If Toyota could build the GR Corolla without these facilities, imagine how much better the F-badged Lexus and Gazoo Racing-tuned cars of tomorrow will get with specialized facilities and no external distractions. Hopefully, we’ll see the fruits of these labors soon.
