The word performance SUV may sound a bit of an oxymoron, but it’s carved itself a rather strong (and profitable) niche. Whether it’s sports car chasing crossovers or high-speed dirt machines, the desire to go faster with these high-riding vehicles is stronger than ever.
Interestingly, there is one brand that has yet to truly enter that market. One would think that Toyota would already have one given that it has a vehicle for almost every segment. But if you take at the world’ biggest automaker’s range, there isn’t anything that fits the bill.
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Gazoo Racing, the in-house racing and performance division of Toyota, seems to have noticed that too. That’s because it recently expressed its intent to build a true GR SUV. “To expand the GR brand, maybe [SUVs] are needed as well. Some people can only use SUVs because they have families,” said Tomoya Takahashi, president of Gazoo Racing, to Australian press during a press conference.
Excited? Well, so are we. That said, he didn’t mention what kind of SUV Gazoo Racing would like to get its hands on. It could be anything from a high-performance crossover similar to the Porsche Cayenne or BMW X5M to a proper off-roader in the likes of the Ford Bronco Raptor or V8-powered Jeep Wrangler.
What wasn’t mentioned during the presscon was a true GR-engineered pickup. While Takahasi didn’t dismiss the idea, it does dash some hopes for a hot Hilux, Tacoma, or Tundra. Still, there’s still a small chance so we’re hanging on to that.
There are some flashes of GR engineering in the present Gazoo-touched pickups and SUVs. Most notable are the GR-S versions of the Toyota Fortuner and Toyota Hilux. The prior comes with the most powerful tune of the familiar 2.8-liter turbodiesel engine (221hp, 550Nm), while the latter gets unique suspension upgrades and a wider wheel track.
What are some likely candidates to get the full GR treatment? With its heritage-inspired styling, the all-new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado seems to be the best bet. It’s already available with off-road packages, and it will be interesting to see how Gazoo Racing would unlock its full potential. Another possible model would be the full-sized Land Cruiser 300 Series given that it already has a GR Sport version.
For crossovers, there are three that we could think of. First is the Yaris Cross, specifically the Toyota-based version and not the Daihatsu. It already shares the same underpinnings as the standard Yaris which, in turn, forms the basis of the hot GR Yaris. A sportier RAV4 isn’t out of the real of possibility, and the same goes for Crown Sport and Crown Signia sold in Japan.
