We’ve spoken at great length about Toyota’s new, smaller, and lighter four-cylinder engines that will power everything. However, there’s been little information regarding a large-displacement ICE designed specifically for the company’s new flagship performance vehicle. The GR-badged supercar is set to premiere in early December, and yes, it will have a V-8 engine.
In an interview at the ongoing 2025 Japan Mobility Show, Toyota’s powertrain president, Takashi Uehara, confirmed the juicy rumors about a twin-turbo V-8. He explained that the foundation for this new eight-cylinder setup lies within the company’s upcoming family of modular gasoline engines consisting of 1.5- and 2.0-liter units.
In the mid-engine GR Yaris M concept, the 2.0-liter “G20E” has a target output exceeding 400 horsepower. Uehara told CarExpert that the new V-8 is “widely speaking” related to the four-cylinder engine mounted behind the hot hatch’s seats. The V-8 will deliver significantly more power, and not only because it has four extra cylinders and a second turbo.
The man in charge of engines at Toyota also confirmed another part of the rumor surrounding the GT3-derived supercar: the ICE will be part of a hybrid powertrain. However, he clarified that the performance machine will not be a plug-in hybrid. He further hinted that Lexus will use the electrified V-8 in a production version of the Sport Concept shown here, which, as we recently learned, is indeed a hybrid.
Photo by: Lexus
When asked whether Toyota’s luxury division would have access to the new engine, Uehara essentially confirmed it: “You can expect—you see the Lexus new sports car? That is that…” He also hinted that engineers are tuning the V-8 differently for Lexus compared to Toyota’s GR flagship:
‘Maybe we could have a V-8 with a more gentle [character], or we could have a more muscular, heavy-duty version.’
We suspect Lexus will get the “gentle” version, while Toyota will employ the “heavy-duty” configuration, especially in the GT3 race car. It makes sense for the V-8 to power more than one vehicle; developing a new engine from scratch for a single, low-volume model would be difficult to justify financially. A racing counterpart helps make the investment viable, while a street-legal Lexus derivative improves economies of scale.
Toyota isn’t the only automaker investing in a new V-8. AMG has one in development, and its parent company, Mercedes, even remains committed to the venerable V-12. Meanwhile, BMW has already confirmed it’s tweaking the V-8 to meet upcoming emissions regulations, ensuring its mid-term survival. Through Porsche, the Volkswagen Group also intends to keep V-8s alive well into the 2030s.
So yes, the V-8 isn’t going anywhere.
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