Words and photographs by Batuhan Pehlivan | 31 July 2026
Toyota’s new GR GT3 completed another significant day of development running on the Nürburgring Nordschleife on Friday, joining the official test and set-up session ahead of the seventh round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie.
The car was operated by KCMG, with 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours winner Jesse Krohn among the drivers seen behind the wheel. Its appearance continued a relationship that has steadily placed the Hong Kong-based team at the centre of Toyota’s preparations for a future top-class Nordschleife programme.
This was not a preview of a surprise race entry. The GR GT3 does not appear on the 134-car entry list for Saturday’s KW 6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen. Friday’s laps were strictly part of the development process, but one detail provided an intriguing indication of how far that process has already advanced.
During the session, Pitlane News observed a lap reading in the 7:57 range on the car’s cockpit display. Toyota and KCMG have not released an official lap time, and the displayed figure has not been independently verified against session timing. Its precise start and finish reference is also unknown, as are the tyre specification, fuel load, power setting, traffic conditions and test programme used for the lap. It must therefore be treated as an observed development figure, not an official benchmark or record.
Even with those qualifications, the number is noteworthy. For context, KCMG secured pole position for NLS3 earlier this season with a 7:52.393 in its homologated Mercedes-AMG GT3. The two laps cannot be compared directly. If the Toyota’s display used the conventional NLS lap reference, however, a time beginning with 7:57 would place the still-developing car within the established performance window of current GT3 machinery.
From concept to credible Nordschleife pace
The GR GT3’s route to this point has been unusually public and unusually long. Toyota first presented the GR GT3 Concept at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. Track development followed in Japan before the prototype appeared in camouflage at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The production-intent GR GT and its GT3 racing counterpart were then formally revealed in December 2025.
The Nordschleife has since become a central part of the programme. The race car made its first known appearance there without camouflage on 9 April, when KCMG personnel and drivers, including David Pittard, were reported to have been involved in the running. A further two-day test followed in early July with technical support from Toyota Racing’s Cologne operation. Friday’s appearance was therefore not an isolated shakedown, but the latest stage in a structured development campaign.
Toyota’s published prototype specifications describe a car measuring 4,785 mm in length, 2,050 mm in width and only 1,090 mm in height. Power comes from a 3,998 cc twin-turbo V8 driving the rear wheels through a front-engine layout. The GR GT3 also follows the road-going GR GT’s core principles of a low centre of gravity, low weight with high rigidity and aerodynamics-led design, supported by Toyota’s first all-aluminium body frame.
Toyota has not published a power figure for the racing version, which is unsurprising for a car being prepared for FIA GT3 homologation and eventual Balance of Performance. The more important target is broader than a peak number. Toyota says the car is being engineered to win while remaining accessible to both professional and gentleman drivers, a requirement that places consistency, feedback, tyre management and serviceability alongside outright lap time.
The road to 2027
Toyota officially says development is continuing towards a launch around 2027. The GR GT3 is set to succeed the long-serving Lexus RC F GT3, while Daytona is currently targeted for its North American debut. Programmes in LMGT3 competition and on the Nürburgring are also widely expected, although Toyota has not yet confirmed the full scope or timing of its European race plans.
There has been repeated speculation that the car could make a development race appearance in the NLS before its wider 2027 introduction. Friday’s test does not confirm that possibility, but it does strengthen the case that the Nordschleife is more than a proving ground for this project. Toyota is preparing the car, its drivers and its operational partners around the same circuit on which it ultimately wants to compete for overall honours.
The 7:57-range reading is not a record, nor should it be presented as one. It is something more useful at this stage: first-hand evidence that the GR GT3 is already producing credible pace while its development continues. On a circuit designed to expose every weakness in a racing car, Toyota’s new challenger is now being evaluated by a team and a driver with winning references.
The final verdict will come only after homologation, Balance of Performance and competition. For now, the GR GT3 has offered a clear glimpse of its potential, and the number on its display began with a seven.
