A GR version for the Toyota bZ4X?

The letters GR, when used in connection with Toyota, are not yet a well-known commodity in North America, but that is slowly changing, and we are starting to see them attached to some products. The most obvious ones are the GR Supra and the GR86.

GR of course refers to Toyota's motorsport division, Gazoo Racing. Its next big launch for our market is the GR Corolla, first presented last spring; it’s set to get a manual transmission, all-wheel drive and 300 hp.

Now, there is increasing speculation that the GR division is hard at work spicing up Toyota’s first electric model, the bZ4X SUV.

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Daisuke Ido, chief engineer for the bZ4X, recently told the Move Electric website that a performance version is indeed in the works and will be developed by the Gazoo Racing team. His comments follow the presentation of a bZ4X GR Sport concept at the Tokyo Motor Show in January. The prototype’s darker, more-foreboding appearance and oversized rims were the only clues that it was not a regular bZ4X.

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