The new Toyota GR Cup starting in 2023 will offer “affordable competition” with TRD built GR86 Cup cars competing for a $1 million total prize across 14 events at 7 tracks across the US.
Image: Toyota North America
No official pricing for the GR86 Cup has been listed by Toyota in the States yet but considering the GR86/BRZ Cup has survived 9 seasons in Japan, we can expect that the “affordable competition” will entice a fair amount of pro drivers and amateurs in the series on the opposite end of the globe. Reading through the upgrades to the GR86, we can’t imagine it is cheap to buy into but in the same breath, the upgrades to the Japanese coupe mean they should be as visceral as a purpose built sports car.
Image: Toyota North America
These include the GR86 cars being built at a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) facility in Mooresville, North Carolina where they will receive Bosch engine management, a Borla exhaust system, 22-gallon fuel cell, SADEV six-speed sequential gearbox, Alcon brakes, JRI adjustable shocks, and Toyota Gazoo Racing-designed struts. On the exterior, the challengers of the Toyota GR Cup will boast a Gazoo-built front splitter, vented hood and carbon-fibre wing. The driver will be secured into OMP equipment while a full roll cage should keep things relatively safe in the unfortunate instance of a roll over.
Image: Toyota North America
Competitors will be competing for a $1 million total purse and prizes from the series’ partners which could provide a strong justification to join the series for privateers. The Toyota GR Cup will span 14 events across 7 race tracks in the US.
Get to grips with the new GR86 with our Driven review which took place in Spanish locales.
As standard the 2,4-litre flat four GR86 Special Edition model comes with 170 kW with the rear wheels being driven by a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox. We imagine the bespoke derivatives used in this series might be capable of a little bit more though.
