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Toyota GR’s hypercar may have canopy-style roof and no doors

Toyota has filed patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for what appear to be canopy-style doors for the upcoming GR Super Sport hypercar.

First spotted by users on the GR86.org forum, the applications show the windshield, roof, and side glass of a car lifting up as one piece, with a hinge at the front. The driver enters and exits by swinging their legs over the body sides.

Toyota showed a concept version of the GR Super Sport at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon. The concept didn’t have any obvious cut lines for conventional doors, but it did have lines running parallel to the side glass that match the patent-application drawings. At the time, Toyota didn’t mention a canopy opening.

Toyota GR Super Sport concept

The GR Super Sport is being developed for the World Endurance Championship’s new Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class. Toyota is the last manufacturer standing in the current LMP1 class, and wants to transition to LMH when it replaces LMP1 in 2021. Unlike LMP1 cars, LMH cars must be based on road cars. Manufacturers must build at least 25 of those road cars for homologation in the first season, and 100 road cars in the second season.

Toyota GR Super Sport canopy patent image

Toyota hasn’t confirmed specs, but the GR Super Sport concept has a hybrid system based around a 2.4-liter twin-turbo V-6. The engine is mounted in the middle of the car and drives the rear wheels with help from an electric motor-generator. A second motor-generator powers the front axle, giving the car all-wheel drive. Toyota quoted total system output of 986 horsepower for the concept.

In addition to Toyota, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus has committed to the LMH class. Aston Martin initially discussed entering its Valkyrie, but has put those plans on hold to focus on Formula One. A companion class for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, called LMDh (Le Mans Daytona hybrid), could see Porsche return to top-level endurance racing as well.

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August 24, 2020
There’s a $443,400 option on the Koenigsegg Jesko

The Koenigsegg Jesko is already destined to be a one of the rarest cars in existence, with just 125 planned. But if you want your Jesko to stand out even from that exclusive crowd, it’s going to cost a lot. The Jesko is available with a naked carbon-fiber body, but that single option costs $443,400, Motor1 has discovered.

The fact that Koenigsegg charges roughly as much as a Lamborghini Aventador S to not paint a car was first unearthed by Manny Khoshbin, one of the handful of customers selected to get a Jesko. Only confirmed buyers are allowed to play with the car’s online configurator, an experience Khoshbin documented on his YouTube channel.

Koenigsegg also offers exposed carbon-fiber bodywork with a green, blue, red, or purple tint for $346,100, and a clear carbon option for $292,000. Paint options are less expensive, at $63,300 for Apple Red or Sweet Mandarin candy finishes, $24,800 for pearl finishes, or $13,900 for metallic finishes. There are also some standard paint colors.

Koenigsegg Jesko Cherry Red edition

Exterior finish isn’t the only way to drive up the price of an already-expensive (base price is $3 million) hypercar. Carbon-fiber wheels with Michelin Cup 2R tires cost $110,700.

After playing around with the configurator, Khoshbin wound up with a $3,419,000 price tag for the standard Jesko, and a $4,081,050 price for the Jesko Absolut. The latter was designed to beat the top-speed record currently held by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport+, and Koenigsegg has said it will never make a faster car.

The Jesko is powered by a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that makes 1,600 horsepower on E85. It’s coupled to a 9-speed automatic that Koenigsegg dubbed the Light Speed Transmission, so-named as it’s incredibly quick. This is because if doesn’t need to shift through multiple gears when upshifting or downshifting. For example, if the transmission is in seventh, but decides fourth is needed, it can bypass fifth and sixth gears.

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August 23, 2020
2021 Ford GT, 2021 Ford Bronco Sport, Mercedes-AMG One: This Week’s Top Photos

Ford unveiled new Collection and Heritage Edition options for its GT supercar this week, the latter in honor of the GT40 Mk II driven by Ken Miles to victory in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona.

2021 Ford Bronco Sport first ride

We were also treated by Ford with a ride in its 2021 Bronco Sport. It may be related to the Escape, but the baby Bronco can hold its own on rough terrain.

2020 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0

One of the cars we tested this week was the 2020 Porsche 718 Boxster GTS 4.0. Yes, Porsche’s 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman are now available with the 4.0-liter flat-6 previously only available in the exclusive Boxster Spyder and Cayman GT4 variants.

2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo spy shots – Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

One of the cars we spied this week was also a Porsche, specifically the Taycan Cross Turismo battery-electric wagon. It’s due out later this year but hasn’t been confirmed for local sale.

2022 Genesis electric hatch (JW) spy shots – Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

Another vehicle we spied was an upcoming EV from Genesis. It’s one of two EVs the Korean luxury brand is out testing; the other is an electric version of the G80.

Mercedes-AMG One prototype

Mercedes-AMG gave us an update on the development of its One. Powertrain calibrations for the Formula One-powered hypercar are finally complete, meaning the development team can now focus on track testing. The car is due out next year.

Delage D12

There was another hypercar in the headlines this week. Historic French marque Delage made a revival with a V-12-powered hypercar called the D12. It comes with a central driving position and an 1,100-horsepower hybrid powertrain, and the people behind it want to make an attempt on the Nürburgring lap record.

2021 Ram 1500 TRX

And finally, Ford’s F-150 Raptor had better watch out as Ram rolled out its 2021 1500 TRX this week, and the truck is packing a supercharged V-8 good for 702 horsepower. A Launch Edition was also revealed and all build slots for this special version managed to sell out within hours.

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August 22, 2020