Toyota recently introduced a new performance sub-brand for foreign markets, and it will be coming to North America, but with a different name.
Last week, Toyota introduced its new GR brand, rolling out several models featuring high-performance accessories and styling modifications. The name comes from Toyota’s motorsports and sports car division, Gazoo Racing. For our market, however, Toyota will leverage a brand name that is more familiar with North American enthusiasts, Toyota Racing Development, or better known as, TRD.
According to an report, Toyota executives see no need for new branding in the U.S. since TRD is already established. It’s also being reported that U.S. executives privately loathe the name Gazoo because it has no obvious tie-in to Toyota.
SEE ALSO: Toyota Launches its New Performance Sub-Brand
So what will North America get from Toyota’s new performance sub-brand? Details of that are still scarce, but the president of Gazoo Racing Co., Shigeki Tomoyama, promises the treatment seen in the GR cars will be applied to future TRD models and even production cars in North America.
More excitingly, the sub-brand’s next phase is a designated sports car platform before they eventually introduce “a pure, genuine sports car, which can compete against top-class world competitors.”
Hopefully, we will get a better picture of Toyota’s sports car plans once the new Supra debuts, possibly at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show.
[Source: Automotive News]
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