You knew it was too good to be true, or at the very least too fascinating. There received’t be a high-powered, race-derived Toyota Prius on the market quickly. Nonetheless, Toyota could also be testing the marketplace for such a factor.

Gazoo Racing is a division of Toyota that builds precise racecars and sports activities automobiles bought underneath the Toyota identify. GR engineers are behind every thing from one-off prototype race automobiles for endurance races to the GR86 coupe (beginning at $28,400).

Gazoo can also be behind a good quantity of on-line frolic. The GR workforce likes to plant easter eggs for future high-powered merchandise in common Toyota advertisements and bury teasers in odd locations on the corporate’s web site.

Simply earlier than Memorial Day, it set the automotive press buzzing with an unexplained picture on a web page in regards to the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans race. It appeared to tease a high-performance Prius, of all issues.

The picture had the correct proportions, exhibiting simply the decrease air rattling of a automobile hidden underneath a principally closed storage door.

A GR Prius would have appeared absurd only a yr in the past. However the all-new 2023 Prius is not like hybrids earlier than it. It’s shapely, presents virtually 200 horsepower in its least highly effective version, and even has a grippy set of tires. A race-bred model of earlier Prius fashions was unthinkable. A sporty tackle this one is, nicely, thinkable.

However it isn’t to be.

As we speak, GR revealed particulars of the automobile. Known as the Prius 24h Le Mans Centennial GR Version Idea, it’s not destined on the market.

It’s a 2023 Prius with “unique wheels and aerodynamic efficiency elements impressed by” the GR workforce’s present Le Mans racer, the GR010 Hybrid.

Modifications embody aspect skirts, canards, a big rear wing, and a rear diffuser. It makes use of a “wide-track suspension, 235/50R 18-inch tires, and unique aerodynamic wheels.” The hood is light-weight carbon fiber. And quad multi-headlamps enhance visibility.

GR stated nothing about plans to supply the automobile on the market, although it does have a license plate body. The price of a carbon-fiber hood is the largest clue — we are able to’t see anybody spending that sort of cash on a Prius, even when it will be a hilariously succesful stoplight racer.

The transfer, after all, might be a take a look at to see if just a few hints of a high-powered Prius generated the sort of curiosity that bought you studying tales from automotive web sites. We wouldn’t rule out a GR Prius ultimately.

However this one genuinely appears to be only a idea.