It Appears That the Lexus LFR Won't Be Prepared for Racing in 2026

      The Toyota GT Concept showcased at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Adam Ismail

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      If you haven't already heard, Toyota/Lexus/Gazoo Racing is developing a new flagship vehicle—a supercar referred to as the LFR, intended to succeed the legendary LFA and compete in GT categories globally. This has not been particularly secretive, following various concepts, spy images, and a rolling demo of camouflaged race and road cars showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this summer. The anticipation for this project has been building for some time now, but potential delays on the motorsport side raise questions about when we might see its racing debut—and what that implies for the road version's timeline as well.

      Sportscar365 reports that Toyota's GT3 competitor is "unlikely to race" in the World Endurance Championship in 2026, and this absence may extend to other international GT series like the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The concern arises from the notion that if the LFR were to compete, for example, in the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, it would have likely been unveiled already. When approached about the situation, a Toyota spokesperson "declined to comment."

      If we don’t witness this unnamed GT3 car competing at events like Le Mans and Sebring next year, there’s still a possibility it might appear elsewhere; Toyota often experiments with sports cars in Japan’s Super Taikyu series, where vehicle homologation differs from WEC and IMSA. A full campaign may then initiate in 2027, which feels quite far off, especially compared to when we anticipated this car would hit the track. In 2023, Motorsport.com reported that "delays to the planned release of the GR GT3 road car" pushed the timeline from 2025 to 2026. Now, even that expected timeline appears uncertain.

      The Toyota GT Racing Concept showcased at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Adam Ismail

      In a way, this situation feels reminiscent of history repeating itself. Although the LFA didn't have an officially homologated GT rival, Lexus took a considerable amount of time to bring it to reality. The initial show car that hinted at what would ultimately become the LFA was presented in 2005, by which point the supercar had already been in development for five years. Engineers transitioned from aluminum construction to a carbon-fiber tub midway through its development, so it wasn't until 2008 that functional prototypes made their debut at Nürburgring VLN endurance events. The production version of the LFA was ultimately revealed in October 2009.

      For now, it appears we may need to await further spy shots and speculations. The LFR is anticipated to feature a turbocharged V8 engine with hybrid support. A report from Japanese media in August indicated that the car's delay has worsened its timeline, as it is now subject to new emissions regulations it might have avoided had it launched earlier. We hope the LFR will finally make its debut on the road soon, no matter what hurdles arise.

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