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Written by Rowan Horncastle
The Toyota Prius is automotive spreadable yeast extract. It"s loved by Uber drivers and Dirty Mike and the Boys, but loathed by people who appreciate decent driving dynamics and doors that are a gauge thicker than a sardine can"s lid. However, you can"t argue with the stats. Being the all-time best-selling hybrid in the world, they"ve shifted a bucket load of them. Well, quite a few buckets. But stats aren"t cool. What is cool are big wings, slick tyres and a 500bhp 5.4-litre V8 from the Lexus RC F GT3 car. And that"s the treatment the Prius has just had. It"s a new high-performance suit of armour so it can race in the fastest race series in the world for road-going cars: Japan"s spectacular Super GT series. Consisting of seven rounds at circuits throughout Japan with an eighth mid-season event held in Thailand it"s the toppiest of top-flight touring car series. How fast is fast? Put it this way, Maserati tried to enter its MC12 racing car a few years back into Japan"s Super GT500 but it was deemed too slow (by almost a second a lap, entirely down to aerodynamics in corners). So it"s a lot more akin to DTM the regs are actually smashed out in unison but the GT cars are about two-seconds a lap quicker than those guys too. Which is a lot. The series is split into two categories; the halo GT500 class populated by the most powerful machines and is usually reserved for manufacturer-backed teams. And the GT300 class, where teams have total freedom with aero, suspension, and gearbox design so is a hit with privateer teams and tuners. That"s where these two Prius plug-in hybrids will do battle. But they"re by no means standard.
Date written: 11 Apr 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 15387
The Toyota Prius is automotive spreadable yeast extract. It"s loved by Uber drivers and Dirty Mike and the Boys, but loathed by people who appreciate decent driving dynamics and doors that are a gauge thicker than a sardine can"s lid. However, you can"t argue with the stats. Being the all-time best-selling hybrid in the world, they"ve shifted a bucket load of them. Well, quite a few buckets. But stats aren"t cool. What is cool are big wings, slick tyres and a 500bhp 5.4-litre V8 from the Lexus RC F GT3 car. And that"s the treatment the Prius has just had. It"s a new high-performance suit of armour so it can race in the fastest race series in the world for road-going cars: Japan"s spectacular Super GT series. Consisting of seven rounds at circuits throughout Japan with an eighth mid-season event held in Thailand it"s the toppiest of top-flight touring car series. How fast is fast? Put it this way, Maserati tried to enter its MC12 racing car a few years back into Japan"s Super GT500 but it was deemed too slow (by almost a second a lap, entirely down to aerodynamics in corners). So it"s a lot more akin to DTM the regs are actually smashed out in unison but the GT cars are about two-seconds a lap quicker than those guys too. Which is a lot. The series is split into two categories; the halo GT500 class populated by the most powerful machines and is usually reserved for manufacturer-backed teams. And the GT300 class, where teams have total freedom with aero, suspension, and gearbox design so is a hit with privateer teams and tuners. That"s where these two Prius plug-in hybrids will do battle. But they"re by no means standard.
Date written: 11 Apr 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 15387
