Listen To Lexus' New V8-Powered Sports Car Being Hammered Around A Track

Lexus will be building a roadgoing version of the Toyota GR GT3 concept, widely believed to enter production as the next Lexus RC F. But instead of being a road car first, it's being developed as a race car that will then be made road-legal, following a new approach Toyota has adopted for sports car development.

The race car has now been spied testing at the Motegi circuit in Japan, giving us a listen to what is undoubtedly a big ol' gas-burning V8 engine under the hood. And it sounds glorious.

The video below labels the car as the Lexus LFR, which was the trademark uncovered by CarBuzzearlier this year. While we believe an LFR supercar is coming, we think that name will be applied to the production version of the Electrified Sport Concept as the LFA's successor instead.

As for the GR GT3 - or whatever production name it will adopt - seen testing in the video above, we know it will be a Lexus and that it will go to production. This much was confirmed in June this year when Rob Leupen, team director for Toyota's WEC team, said that the concept will become a road- and race-going reality in 2026.

When asked if it would be badged as a Lexus, following the concept being spotted at a US dealer conference with a Lexus badge instead of a Toyota one, Leupen's response was, "At the moment, it seems to be. It depends on how it develops within Toyota, but at the moment, yes."

As for what will power the car, the audio tells quite the story. It's very audibly a V8 engine, and a loud one at that, but whether it's a new engine or the evolution of an existing one remains unknown. Toyota and Lexus have only one production V8, a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated unit from the current IS 500, RC F, and LC 500, generating up to 472 horsepower in roadgoing trim.

A few years ago, Lexus was slated to be developing a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, which was to power an F variant of the LC, but this project was allegedly axed. Still, rumors have persisted that a hybridized version of this engine is still in the works, with many suggesting it could power a combustion-engined LFA successor. Perhaps that could be this car, or at least the roadgoing variant, as the race car will be subject to the homologation requirements of whatever series it races in.

As for the Electrified Sport (below), we suspect that it will still come to fruition as the electric LFA successor.