Toyota is developing an electric performance prototype deserving of the GR badge, with the goal of making the company’s performance EVs nearly indistinguishable from their gasoline equivalents. Toyota’s retiring president and grandson of the company’s founder, Akio Toyoda, is actively involved in the development of the EV sports vehicle. Toyoda wants the car to be enjoyable to drive regardless of its powertrain, thus engine noises piped into the interior, as well as the EV manual gearbox and three-pedal configuration, will be included. According to reports, the stick shift is so realistic that it may even roll backwards or stall. The vehicle will resemble a current EV, maybe with design characteristics such as an absence of a grille.
Toyoda has been concerned about keeping automobiles “fun to drive” while the industry transitions to a new age of renewable energy. Toyoda launched Gazoo, a performance sub-brand and racing program, and has collaborated with Toyota partners Daihatsu and Suzuki on a prospective EV with a mid-engined layout. Regardless of the car’s success, Toyoda is attempting to investigate the concept of what a car should not lose if it becomes a BEV.
