Toyota today unveiled the car it will campaign in the 2022 NHRA Funny Car racing season. With a new body inspired by the GR Supra, the 2022 car, will race for the first time at the new season’s kickoff event in Pomona, California in February. The Supra replaces the Camry Funny Car, with which it has been competing since 2012. Before that, the brand competed with a Celica and a Solara. Although the 2022 car only incorporates exterior visual cues from the Supra, Toyota calls it the car with the most significant styling characteristics of any previous Funny Car.
Toyota also introduced new safety
enhancements with the new car. The driver can now see more from behind the
wheel, has more room for their helmet, and there’s more safety foam throughout
the cockpit. The company says its racing department worked closely with its
champion Funny Car driver, J.R. Todd, on many of the improvements.
2021 marks Toyota’s 20th anniversary in
NHRA competition. In all, its drivers have won 137 Top Fuel and 43 Funny Car
races, and have earned six Top Fuel and three Funny Car championships. Funny
Car regulations are tightly controlled and vehicles are only allowed to run V8
engines with a displacement of no more than 500 ci (8.2 liters). Estimates
suggest that they make around 8,000 hp and 9,500 Nm of torque.
