by Rejection of the Corporate Name
In the world of corporate branding, where companies spend millions to place their names everywhere, Toyota does the opposite. Its sports division officially abandoned the Toyota prefix, stepping out of the shadow of the parent company to become an independent brand called Gazoo Racing, or simply GR.
A Personal Beginning to the Story
Although the rebranding attracted attention, the story of Gazoo Racing is more personal and revealing. According to Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, the origins of the division stem from what he still describes as a deeply humiliating experience at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in 2007.
A Name That Appeared by Chance
Racing under the pseudonym “Morizo,” Toyoda got behind the wheel of a track-prepared Toyota Altezza, known in some markets as the Lexus IS, alongside his mentor, Toyota’s chief test driver Hiromu Naruse.
Despite Toyoda’s high position in the company, the board of directors did not allow the team to compete under the Toyota name. Participation in the race was not considered an official corporate activity, so they registered as Team Gazoo. This name, almost comically, was borrowed from Toyota’s used car sales website, a project Toyoda was involved in, and which still exists today.
A Humiliating Experience on the Track
The car managed to last the full 24 hours at the Nürburgring, which was already an impressive achievement. However, Toyoda left the race with a feeling he later described as “humiliation.” Toyota simply did not have a car capable of competing with European sports cars, many of which were there not only to compete but also to collect data for developing future road models.
Toyota’s official version is even less diplomatic: “When he was overtaken on the track by other manufacturers’ test cars, Toyoda felt as if he could hear the competitors saying, ‘You guys at Toyota will never be able to build a car like this!'” This moment stayed with him and made a deep impression.
A Turning Point
The first serious response was the V10-powered Lexus LFA, introduced in 2010. This flagship sports car became Toyota’s first fully in-house developed sports car in almost twenty years. It appeared despite “enormous difficulties” and a “lack of full support within the company.”
Tragedy struck shortly before the LFA’s launch. Hiromu Naruse, who was responsible for tuning the car and was a key figure in its development, died in a road accident near the Nürburgring. For Toyoda, this loss was personal, but it did not undermine his desire to create emotional cars. On the contrary, it strengthened it.
From Website to Global Brand
Subsequent events marked a clear change of course within the company. The GT 86, which debuted in 2012, and the GR Supra, which appeared in 2019, were developed with the participation of Subaru and BMW respectively, but a return to the old ways was no longer possible. Toyota’s ambitions in high performance ceased to be a side project and became part of its core identity.
In 2015, the automaker consolidated various racing assets under a single banner: Toyota Gazoo Racing. What was once an unofficial experiment received an official name, a dedicated structure, and increasing internal support.
Trophies, Titles, and Turbines
The road car lineup reflects this sporting origin. It includes compact hot hatches like the GR Yaris and GR Corolla, agile coupes like the GR 86 and GR Supra, as well as the full-fledged flagship supercar GR GT, which will be the first launched under the standalone GR brand. They will soon be joined by the revived GR Celica, and rumors point to the possible arrival of a new GR MR2.
The final step makes it official. Toyota removed its name from the Gazoo Racing emblem, positioning GR as a standalone brand alongside Daihatsu, Lexus, and Century. Ironically, yet logically, the name that Toyota once refused to support in racing has now become strong enough to exist on its own.
This transformation from an unofficial team to a powerful motorsport and engineering brand is a vivid example of how personal passion and a desire to prove oneself right can reshape corporate culture even in the largest companies. Today, GR is not just a brand, but a symbol of Toyota’s new approach to building cars, where driver emotion and genuine thrill come first. The success of this division also shows how important it is sometimes to step beyond traditional rules and allow innovation to be born from unexpected, even uncomfortable, situations.
