New Lexus GT3 Car Set to Launch This Year

Toyota’s next-generation GT3 racer looks set for its long-awaited launch later this year ahead of an anticipated race debut in 2026, with a senior representative of the brand saying the timeline for the car’s introduction hasn’t changed.

More than three years on from the unveiling of the GR GT3 concept at the Tokyo Auto Salon in 2022, the successor to the Lexus RC F GT3 has yet to be officially revealed, despite the car having been spied testing in race and road car form many times at various locations in both Europe and Japan.

Development of the new car, which is likely to be branded a Lexus and has been tipped to be given the name ‘LFR’, connecting it to the brand’s previous LFA supercar, is understood to be virtually complete with its debut in competition less than a year away.

Now-retired TRD president David Wilson told Sportscar365 last year that the new model would race for the first time 2026, most likely beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Asked for an update on the much-anticipated new car, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s director of global motorsport Masaya Kaji suggested nothing has changed in the interim.

“Development remains ongoing, but we are on schedule, and we are not worried,” Kaji said in a recent conversation with Sportscar365. “The plan hasn’t changed.”

Rumors of a possible unveiling for the new car at Daytona during this year’s Rolex 24 proved wide of the mark, but a physical launch on the sidelines of a major event on the global motorsport calendar in 2025 still appears highly likely.

“We are still considering when the launch will be,” Kaji said when asked about the matter.

Development of the new car is known to have taken place in Japan and Europe over the past two years, with Lexus IMSA drivers Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat having both been part of the car’s development.

Programs in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship and SUPER GT all look to be on the cards for the new car’s first season.

Should it be confirmed for a 2026 debut, it will effectively spell the end of competition for the RC F GT3, which was first introduced in 2017.

Having enjoyed success in IMSA and SUPER GT, the car made its WEC debut last year with the Akkodis ASP team following the introduction of the LMGT3 category.

ASP, Vasser Sullivan Racing in the U.S. and K-tunes Racing, a long-time campaigner of the existing Lexus GT3 model in SUPER GT’s GT300 class, are likely to be some of the first teams to get their hands on the RC F’s successor.

FIA rules regarding GT3 models dictate that ten examples should be made available to customers in the first 12 months after homologation, and 20 chassis after two years.