Toyota's GR Sports Cars Could Go Hybrid
Toyota has been working on going hybrid for years now, and it looks like that strategy is still full steam ahead. The ever-popular Camry sedan was one of the more recent models to make the transition. As countries make their emissions regulations more stringent with each passing year, sports cars need to be more efficient or risk getting the ax. That's exactly why the Japanese automaker is reportedly turning its hybridization efforts towards its lineup of GR-tuned models.
Toyota's GR sports car lineup isn't going to get just any ol' hybrid powertrain. The Japanese automaker is working on a brand new engine that combines the performance the GR line is known for with the efficiency of a hybrid. Not long ago, Toyota gave us a sneak peek at the new hybrid engine, which is based on a new turbocharged four-cylinder powerhouse.
According to a report by Autocar, Toyota's new hybrid powertrain made its debut in the GR Yaris M concept, replacing the hatchback's turbocharged three-cylinder engine. As though this couldn't get even more interesting, it came in the form of a mid-mounted 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The engine's placement indicates that we could see a new mid-engined sports car wearing a Toyota badge in the near future.
'Hybrid systems are always a good solution for environmental cars, not just for passenger cars but for sporty cars as well,' Hiroki Nakajima, Toyota's chief technology officer, told Autocar in 2023.
The new hybrid powertrain can work in both traditional hybrid and plug-in hybrid formats. The engine is both smaller and lighter than any of Toyota's current powerhouses, which helps offset the weight added by the hybrid system's electronics. Toyota hasn't provided any specifications regarding the new hybrid powertrain, but, per Autocar, it could generate around 400 horsepower.
Toyota currently has three GR-tuned sports cars in its lineup. Of the three, the GR86 and GR Supra wear the typical performance-driven sports car aesthetic. The GR Corolla is just one of a handful of hot hatches available these days, but it may not be alone for long, as Toyota did show off the GR Yaris M concept with the all-new hybrid powertrain that could deliver 400 horsepower, after all.
The 2026 Toyota GR Supra rolls in hot off the production line with a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine. The latest model blazes around the track with 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque, pushing it to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. To top it off, Toyota's sports car features a top track speed of 155 mph.
The Toyota GR Corolla hatchback is the second most powerful of the three GR-tuned models. It comes equipped with a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. The GR86 is last, but certainly least, with its 2.4-liter flat four producing 228 horsepower.
It seems Toyota isn't done with filling out its performance lineup just yet. In addition to the GR Yaris M concept, the Japanese automaker has teased the return of the MR2 nameplate and the revival of the legendary Celica. Toyota also showed off a GR GT3 concept back in 2022.
It's no surprise Toyota is extending its hybridization efforts to its sports car lineup. While it consists of just three models so far, the Japanese automaker clearly has plans to expand its performance offerings. Frankly, it almost seems like Toyota is trying to shed its reputation for boring, practical vehicles by spicing things up and putting a bit more pep in its step. After all, the 2025 Camry did come equipped with a 225-horsepower hybrid powertrain.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What next for Japan's lunar ambitions after ispace fails to touchdown
STORY: A room of more than 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors and Japanese government officials abruptly grew silent on Friday (June 6). Flight data from the company's moon lander was lost less than two minutes before the scheduled touchdown. Japanese firm ispace said the uncrewed moon lander likely crashed onto the lunar surface. Marking another failure two years after its unsuccessful first mission. Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada. "As of 8 a.m. this morning (2300 GMT June 5), we anticipate that communications with the lander will not be restored and that it will not therefore be possible to complete Mission 2 milestone Success 9 to confirm a landing on the surface of the moon. It has been decided that the mission will conclude." Tokyo-based ispace had hoped to join U.S. firms Intuitive Machines and Firefly Aerospace in making successful commercial moon landings. And it comes amid a global race including state-run lunar missions from China and India. The failure means another multi-year pause in Japan's commercial access to the moon. Although the country remains committed to the U.S.-led Artemis program. And a wide range of Japanese companies are studying lunar exploration as a business frontier. Resilience, ispace's second lunar lander had problems measuring its distance to the surface. It could not slow its descent fast enough, the company said. Adding it has not been able to communicate with Resilience after a likely hard landing. Shares of ispace were untraded, overwhelmed by sell orders. And looked set to close at the daily limit-low, which would mark a 29% fall. For its third mission in 2027, ispace's U.S. unit is building a bigger lander. It's part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services for the Artemis program. The company projects six more missions in the U.S. and Japan through 2029. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Why more and more companies are buying bitcoin
The bitcoin boom is drawing the attention of more companies, who are following Strategy's lead and piling up the token in their corporate treasuries. A growing list of firms have turned themselves into bitcoin holding companies recently, incorporating the top crypto in their balance sheets along with more traditional assets like cash and bonds. To date, 80 companies have embraced the "bitcoin standard," and they own about 3.4% of the total bitcoin supply, according to a report from Bernstein Research. Many are trying to replicate the success of Strategy, which pioneered the bitcoin treasury strategy and has amassed a trove of around 554,000 bitcoins. The company's stock has outperformed the Magnificent Seven, S&P 500, and its underlying bitcoin holdings in the last 12 months. Following suit, last month, GameStop added $500 million of bitcoin to its balance sheet in its first-ever crypto purchase, and Trump Media & Technology Group announced plans to raise $2.5 billion for a bitcoin treasury. In April, the SPAC Cantor Equity Partners merged crypto firm Twenty One Capital with the goal of becoming a pure-play bitcoin holding company and saw its shares spike nearly 500% in the first week of trading. Bernstein predicts that company demand could drive $330 billion of inflows into bitcoin by 2029, with up to $124 billion of that from Strategy alone. That influx of corporate money would be bullish for bitcoin's price. However, buying bitcoin isn't a one-size-fits-all maneuver, and Strategy's success may be hard to replicate, Bernstein said. Small, low-growth companies are good candidates Bernstein estimates that around 2,000 global companies with market caps under $100 billion could be prime candidates for bitcoin adoption. These firms share characteristics like low growth (defined as sub-5% yearly revenue growth rate), low leverage, and high cash piles of $100 million or more. Bitcoin could be a lifeline for these types of companies. Firms with poor growth prospects might decide that their cash is better spent on investing in bitcoin than letting it sit on their balance sheet earning minimal returns. A prime example is Japanese hotel-management company turned bitcoin treasury, MetaPlanet. After years of weak profitability and stock-price stagnation, MetaPlanet began purchasing bitcoin in 2024 via cash raised from bond and equity sales. The move paid off, and the stock is up over 500% in the last year. Some larger companies, such as Tesla, have also purchased bitcoin in the past. However, other mega-cap companies have rejected proposals to buy bitcoin. Meta is the latest example, with over 99% of shareholders voting against a bitcoin treasury plan earlier this week. Proposals have also failed at Amazon and Microsoft. Can Strategy's strategy be replicated? Not all businesses will find the same success as Strategy. The business software company has been piling up bitcoin for five years, enticing investors with equity, convertible debt, and preferred stock offerings to fund even more purchases. The stock provides investors with price appreciation, convertible debt offers more capped upside, and preferred stock provides dividend payouts. The company also has the benefit of experience after weathering multiple bitcoin price crashes. MetaPlanet and other treasury companies have issued convertible debt and equity, but Bernstein points out these companies don't have the same scale and ability to raise funds as Strategy. However, as bitcoin popularity skyrockets, it's clear that lack of experience won't stop these companies from taking a page from the Strategy playbook.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Japan's ispace fails second lunar landing mission
Japan'sprivate moon mission was aborted on Friday after it was presumed that the unmanned Resilience spacecraft had crashed. Tokyo-based startup ispace had launched the mission in hopes of becoming the first private company outside the United States to achieve a controlled lunar landing. The Resilience spacecraft had begun its final descent, successfully firing its main engine "as planned to begin deceleration," ispace said. Mission control reported that the craft's position was "nearly vertical," but contact was then lost. ispace stated that the spacecraft had likely failed to decelerate sufficiently to reach the speed required for a soft lunar landing. "Based on the currently available data... it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing. It is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored, so it has been decided to conclude the mission," ispace said in a statement. As of 8:00 a.m. on June 6, 2025, mission controllers have determined that it is unlikely that communication with the lander will be restored and therefore completing Success 9 is not achievable. It has been decided to conclude the mission.'Given that there is currently no… — ispace (@ispace_inc) June 6, 2025 Before signing off, the livestream announcers said, "never quit the lunar quest." Less than two minutes before the scheduled landing, the once-celebratory gathering of 500 ispace employees, shareholders, sponsors, and government officials fell into stunned silence as contact with the spacecraft was lost. "Expectations for ispace will not waver," Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba posted on X. ispaceによる月面着陸は、残念ながら成功には至りませんが、この挑戦が持つ価値は一時的にできるものではありません。 ispaceに対する期待が揺らぐことはありません。そのためにも、すぐに課題を検証し、次なる飛躍につなげていただきたいと願っています。 — 石破茂 (@shigeruishiba) June 6, 2025 Two years ago, another lunar missionby the company had also ended in a crash. CEO Takeshi Hakamada told reporters he took the second failed attempt "seriously" and intended to use the outcome to inform future missions. He said they had a "strong will to move on, although we have to carefully analyze what happened." Resilience carried a four-wheeled rover built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary, along with five external payloads valued at a total of $16 million. The planned landing site was Mare Frigoris, a plain about 900 km (560 miles) from the moon's north pole. Lunar landings remain challenging due to the moon's rugged terrain. To date, only five nations have successfully achieved soft lunar landings: Russia, US, China, India and Japan. Private companies have recently entered the race to the moon, and ispace would have been the third such company to achieve it. The mission wanted to collect two lunar soil samples and sell them to NASA for $5,000 (€4373). In January, Resilience shared a SpaceX rocket launch with Firefly's Blue Ghost lander, which touched down successfully in March. A moon landing attempt by US-based company Intuitive Machines failed in March this year. Edited by: Louis Oelofse
