Toyota TRD history: Toyota Racing Development, desert racing, Le Mans, NASCAR and the GR cars

Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and Toyota Gazoo Racing history

Toyota's racing history began in 1957, when a Toyopet Crown ran the Mobilgas Rally Around Australia. Toyota set up Toyota Sports Corner (Tosco) to run that effort; Tosco became Toyota Racing Development in 1976, and Toyota's company timeline dates the American arm, Toyota Racing Development U.S.A., Inc., to 1979. Its job was to improve the performance of production vehicles. TRD opened a new facility in Costa Mesa, California, in 1994, and by 2014 Toyota said it also had a facility in Salisbury, North Carolina.

In the U.S., TRD made its name off-road. In 1983 it teamed with Cal Wells III's Precision Preparation, Inc. (PPI) to race trucks based on Toyota's compact pickup, winning stadium-series and SCORE desert titles with Rod Millen and Ivan "Ironman" Stewart. Stewart won the Mint 400, Baja 500 and Baja 1000 in 1993 alone. Toyota described him in 2014 as a 22-time SCORE Baja 500 and 1000 champion and an Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame member (inducted 2006). On the road, TRD built cars for IMSA with Dan Gurney's All American Racers, including the 1987 GTO and 1993 GTP champions, and its engines won 38 races in CART and IndyCar, including the 2003 Indianapolis 500.

Toyota entered NASCAR in 2000, joined the Truck Series in 2004 and the Cup Series in 2007, and TRD engineers designed the V8 engines for its NASCAR Tundras and Camrys. Globally, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing won Le Mans five years running from 2018 to 2022 and won the Dakar Rally in 2019 and 2022. In the showroom, the TRD Pro trucks arrived for 2015 and the GR Supra, GR86 and GR Corolla followed. For the 2025 season, Toyota Racing in North America became Toyota Gazoo Racing North America, with TRD U.S.A. still handling the engineering.[1],[3],[4],[7],[8],[13],[17],[21]

Years and production numbers

Generations and key variants

Engine and drivetrain facts

• TRD engineered and built its own engines for CART and IRL IndyCar instead of rebadging a third-party design; those engines won 38 races, including the 2003 Indianapolis 500.
• For Formula Atlantic, TRD developed a version of the 1.6-liter 4AG four-cylinder that made 240 horsepower and revved to 12,000 rpm.
• TRD U.S.A. engineers designed and built the V8 engines used in Toyota's NASCAR Tundras and Camrys.
• The TS050 HYBRID was a 1,000 PS four-wheel-drive Le Mans car; Toyota says it used 35% less fuel than the first LMP1 hybrids of 2012 while lapping about 10 seconds faster.
• The 2022 GR010 HYBRID pairs a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 rated at 500 kW (680 PS) at the rear wheels with a 200 kW (272 PS) front hybrid motor, running on 100% renewable fuel that year.
• The 2022 Dakar-winning GR DKR Hilux T1+ used a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 that Toyota says also powers the Land Cruiser GR Sport.

Sources:[3],[10],[12],[17]

What changed over the years

1. 1957Toyota's first competition: a Toyopet Crown in the Mobilgas Rally Around Australia, run by the new Toyota Sports Corner (Tosco).
2. 1976Tosco becomes Toyota Racing Development.
3. 1979Toyota Racing Development U.S.A., Inc. is established.
4. 1983TRD teams with Cal Wells III's PPI for off-road racing with Rod Millen and Ivan Stewart.
5. 1987TRD and All American Racers win the IMSA GTO title with a Celica, the first for a Japanese manufacturer.
6. 1993Stewart wins the Mint 400, Baja 500 and Baja 1000; the AAR Eagle Mk. III takes the IMSA GTP title.
7. 1994TRD opens a new facility in Costa Mesa, California.
8. 2000Toyota becomes the first import brand to race in NASCAR, with a V6 Celica in the Goody's Dash Series.
9. 2004Tundra enters the NASCAR Truck Series and wins 9 races and 13 poles in its first year.
10. 2007Toyota enters the NASCAR Cup Series with the Camry.
11. 2014TRD Pro Series announced for the 2015 Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner; a Tundra TRD Pro, coached by Stewart, wins its class at the Baja 1000.
12. 2015Kyle Busch wins Toyota's first Cup Series drivers' title.
13. 2016–2017Cup manufacturers' titles in 2016 and 2017; Martin Truex Jr. wins the 2017 drivers' title.
14. 2018First Le Mans win, with the TS050 HYBRID.
15. 2019Busch's second Cup title and a record 19 Camry wins; first Dakar win; the GR Supra goes on sale.
16. 2022Fifth straight Le Mans win; second Dakar win; GR86 reaches dealers and the GR Corolla debuts.
17. 2025Toyota Racing becomes Toyota Gazoo Racing North America; TRD U.S.A. continues technical support.
18. 2026Toyota clinches its fourth Cup Series manufacturers' title, its first since 2019.

Sources:[1],[3],[4],[7],[9],[13],[16],[17],[18],[19],[20],[21],[22],[24],[25]

What to check before you buy one

• Know which TRD you're looking at. TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road and TRD Pro are factory grades with different suspension and equipment, but TRD parts and badges are also sold through dealers, so a badge alone doesn't prove the grade.
• On a TRD Pro, check that the model-specific hardware is still fitted. The 2015 Tundra TRD Pro, for example, came with TRD-tuned front springs with a 2-inch lift and Bilstein shocks; the 2024 Tacoma TRD Pro uses FOX QS3 shocks.
• Off-road trims see off-road use. Look under the truck for skid-plate damage, bent rock rails or control arms, and ask whether it has been lifted or re-geared since it left the factory.
• For a numbered GR Supra Launch Edition, confirm the individually numbered carbon-fiber dash badge; Toyota limited the first U.S. run to 1,500 cars.
• GR Corolla buyers should confirm the grade (Core, Circuit Edition or later editions), since equipment and pricing differ, and check open recalls by VIN on NHTSA before buying any TRD or GR vehicle.

Engine guides: 5.7L i-FORCE V8 (3UR-FE), 4.0L V6 (1GR-FE), i-FORCE MAX hybrid.

How to verify a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and Toyota Gazoo Racing's factory options

TRD Pro, TRD Off-Road and GR models are factory grades, but TRD parts and badges are also sold over the counter. CarWhere checks the 17-character VIN against licensed factory build data and, when it exists, lists the grade and equipment the vehicle was built with.

Race trucks and prototypes such as the TS050 and GR010 HYBRID were never road-registered, so they carry no 17-character VIN. Every TRD-badged production Toyota and every U.S.-market GR car does: TRD's first factory truck package came in the late 1990s, well after 17-character VINs became standard with the 1981 model year (49 CFR 565).[28]

For pre-1981 examples, the data plate and engine stampings carry the original factory codes; a VIN-based build lookup does not apply to them.