Toyota Gazoo Racing made headlines a couple of years ago with the performance-focused GR Yaris, but the company is now working on something quite different – a hot variant of the bZ4X crossover. What could be the first GR-branded EV will become reality if Toyota engineers manage to extract enough performance from the bZ4X, to live up to the Gazoo Racing name.
It seems that the Toyota bZ4X GR Sport
concept from the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon last January was not just a show car,
since the Japanese automaker is toying with the idea of a production version.
Toyota didn’t publish any details on the concept’s powertrain but showcased how
the bZ4X looks with large-diameter alloy wheels, lowered suspension, and GR
badges. As reported by Autocar, the challenge is to make sure that a beefed-up
bZ4X can deliver driving dynamics similar to other GR-branded vehicles.
Daisuke Ido, the chief engineer who is
responsible for the bZ family of models, admitted they are in talks with the
“GR guys”, but the project is still not a “concrete idea”. It is not clear if
Ido is talking about a full-blown GR or a milder GR Sport version but this
decision might largely depend on the capabilities of the final model. In any
case, the team wants to make a go-fast bZ4X that is potent around the corners
and offers a fun experience behind the wheel, with more power and torque from
its electric powertrain.
Currently, the most powerful dual-motor
bZ4X is producing 215 hp and 336 Nm of torque,
but the related Lexus RX450e makes 309 hp and 435 Nm of torque. The e-TNGA architecture, which will also underpin all future
bZ models, is capable of better performance. A perfect example is the Toyota GR
Sports concept that was unveiled in December 2021 alongside an array of EVs,
possibly previewing an electric successor of the MR2. A Toyota GR bZ4X should
be more versatile than that, retaining its all-rounder role as a daily despite
the extra go.
