- Toyota has revealed two wild Camry project cars in Japan that are just for fun rather than a sign of things to come.
- The crazy Camrys were designed by Gazoo Racing and Toyota Racing to get people pumped for the American-built sedan’s JDM entrance.
- We had the chance to rev the heck out of the GR-built white Camry that features a side-exit exhaust and a towering rear wing.
Eight-foot-tall exhaust pipes. A second engine in the trunk. The glint from a chandelier in the back seat. Not at all what you’d expect attached to the humble Toyota Camry, but CEO Akio Toyoda and Toyota Racing chairman Hiroki Nakajima would settle their beef no other way, with a playful project-car-build showdown to drum up excitement for the eventual entry of the American-built Camry into the Japanese market.
The two skunkworks Camrys, built by teams from Toyota Racing and Gazoo Racing, were unveiled at Fuji Speedway in Japan ahead of the 24-hour Super Taikyu Race. And while we think the giant sharknose front bumper of the black Camry speaks for itself, Toyota has asked us to make it very clear these aren’t new trim levels, accessories you can purchase from your local dealership, or a mid-cycle refresh. No matter how hard we pray for it.
The two cars were built as a finale to a three-part project-car competition, where Mr. Toyota challenged Daihatsu and Toyota Racing against Gazoo Racing. GR showed up with a white Camry donning overfenders and a second engine, effectively making it all-wheel drive.
This one wasn’t quite finished, but the Gazoo Racing team stayed up through the night to make sure it could fire up for the engine-rev competition. One of the GR marketing folks let us have a go at redlining it. Similar to how it’s done in NASCAR, the GR team opted for a side-exit exhaust. It was enough to drown out the J-Pop group Fresh Angels performing nearby.
Bōsōzoku-style, which is the automotive equivalent to Japan’s outlaw biker gangs of the 1950s, is what the Toyota Racing group cooked up. Their black Camry is largely inspired by Kentucky whiskey — fitting as the Camry is currently built there — and goes all out with stretched tires and exhaust tips that reach toward nearby Mount Fuji. The interior is especially wild, with a 1980s-looking digital gauge cluster and a glass shift knob with an “ice cube” inside it that really belongs in a highball. They also converted it to right-hand drive.
Not only does it have the turbocharged engine from the GR Yaris, but it’s got a freakin’ chandelier in the front seat. Fans were allowed to vote for their favorite, but using our editorial freedom, we’re calling the Toyota Racing Bōsōzoku build the winner. It even indicated it was going 158 km/h while in park. You gotta love project cars.
