The Toyota Prius Gets a Cool Upgrade: Gazoo Racing's New Look

The Toyota Prius has been transformed with its fifth generation and has managed to stop being a boring car, at least from an aesthetic point of view, on whether it wears the colors of Toyota Gazoo Racing.

The sports division of the Japanese firm has created a prototype of the Prius on the occasion of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans that imagines what a high-performance variant of this hybrid would be like.

A Prius with the Gazoo Racing logo

Since its launch in 1997, the Toyota Prius has been able to boast many things: it was the first series-produced hybrid, it has been one of the most efficient and frugal cars on the market for decades, and, over time, it has also earned a reputation for being a very reliable car, partly because of the good results it gives to thousands of taxi drivers around the world.

However, it has never been said that the Prius is an attractive car, neither from an aesthetic point of view nor in terms of driving, rather the opposite, to the point of being described as one of the most boring cars on the market. But that has changed with its fifth generation.

Last year, Toyota unveiled the fifth installment of the most popular hybrid of all time and, although it continues to bet on hybridization and promises to be even more efficient than its predecessors, it has a completely different image.

It is still shaped like a "drop of water" to be as aerodynamic as possible, but its appearance is less controversial, in fact, it gains muscle and, for many, it has become an attractive car, inside and out.

It is also more powerful since the only engine that has been released so far develops 223 hp and allows it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds. In addition, this plug-in hybrid set has a 13.6 kWh lithium-ion battery with which it can be around 70 km in fully electric mode.

Unfortunately, in Spain, we are going to be looking forward to the Toyota Prius because it will not be sold in our market, at least for now, despite the fact that the Japanese hybrid has caused a lot of expectations since its introduction.

And it continues to do so because Toyota has decided to multiply its appeal on the occasion of the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race that has brought much joy to Toyota in recent years and which could serve to continue the good run of the Japanese brand. in the WEC this season (he has won the first three rounds).

It would never have occurred to us to call the Prius “sporty”, but the concept presented by the Japanese firm a few days before Le Mans has broken all our schemes. So much so that it would not be out of place if it were the next production Toyota to carry the GazooRacing logo.

It's called the Toyota Prius 24h Le Mans Centennial GR Edition and, for now, it's just a prototype, but it does give you an idea of what the new Prius could be on steroids in the form of a body kit, aerodynamic accessories, sports seats, lowered suspension and other elements that inevitably change our perception of the Prius.

Toyota has improved the aerodynamics of the production car, which already offers a Cx of 0.24, with a huge carbon fiber rear wing, canards, a front splitter, side skirts, and a rear diffuser.

It also reduces the weight of the set with a carbon fiber hood, while the standard wheels have given way to 18" aerodynamics with the same design as those of the Hypercar Toyota GR010 Hybrid 2023 with which Toyota will try to win the 24 Hours Le Mans this weekend.

To all this, we must add a specific decoration, the GR logos, and long-range LED headlights that remind those who use the resistance cars at night. As if that were not enough, this Prius has lowered suspension and widened tracks.

Throughout these days it can be seen at a stand prepared by Toyota and Mazda (the only Japanese manufacturers to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans) on the La Sarthe circuit. Surrounding the Toyota prototype is a manga exhibition by artist Masahito Soda.