How the 2025 Toyota GR Prius could seriously shake up the electric vehicle market
summary
- The new 2025 Toyota GR Prius is set to make waves in the electric vehicle market, transforming the boring and unexciting Prius into a desirable and attractive vehicle with impressive acceleration and horsepower.
- With the introduction of the Toyota Gazoo Prius 24h Le Mans Centennial GR Edition concept, Toyota aims to give the Prius the X factor, boosting its performance and making it lighter, faster and more visually appealing.
- Toyota’s investment in renewable technology and hybrid racing suggests that a production version of the Prius GR hot hatch could be in the works, which would further shake up the electric vehicle market and build on the heritage and innovation of the Prius brand.
New 2025 Toyota The GR Prius will make waves in the electric vehicle market. But the name Toyota Prius and making waves aren’t always used in the same sentence.
The first generation Prius was launched in 1997. It was the best of cars, and it was the worst of cars. The Toyota Prius was a new dawn in the automotive world, a way to save the planet, and a bridge from fossil cars to cars powered by renewable energy. It was all that. They’ve also been a favorite of climate-conscious motorists, from celebrities to professionals. But the Prius has not penetrated the market beyond green spaces. Why?
The first Toyota Prius was the sensible shoe of the automobile. As a Toyota, it was well made, but there was nothing attractive or exciting about it. It was slow, expensive, and not so much ugly as offensively bland. The Prius looked like the unfortunate product of a microwave oven and a tropical fish tank.
Generations of Priuses have followed, updating the technology, tweaking the looks, while keeping the cool look in place.
It took the Tesla Roadster to show the world in 2008 that electric/electrified cars could be exciting. It took Toyota another fifteen years to realize it could do the same thing. But once they did, they pulled out all the stops.
New Dawn – Toyota Prius 2023
In late 2022, thousands of custom gearheads turned up their browsers and said, “Awesome!”
It was the launch of the 2023 Prius and Toyota finally let Cinderella go to the party.
It looked great, had plenty of horsepower, was fast, and provided great acceleration. The new generation Prius was a desirable car in its own right.
The 2023 Prius comes in two versions: regular hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV). The first had nearly 200 horsepower and could go from 0 to 60 in about 7.0 seconds. The PHEV was called the Prime, had 220 horsepower, and could reach 60 mph in 6.6 seconds.
This was an affordable hybrid that turned heads on the street. The fact that it is environmentally friendly, and a Toyota, is the icing on the cake.
But the new Prius is a compact suburban hatchback, and it has to compete with a market saturated with similar cars, many of which are also electrified. Cars like the Chevy EUV Bolt, Mini Electric, and KIA Niro Hybrid are all great options, competing directly with the 23 Prius.
Toyota has really transformed the Prius to where it can compete. Now she needed something else to lift her above the crowd. She needed the X factor.
Toyota Diesel Prius 24 Hours Le Mans Centennial GR Edition
The X factor is the Toyota Gazoo Prius 24h Le Mans Centennial GR Edition concept car. Gazoo Racing is Toyota’s motorsport division and also develops GR performance car technologies.
Concept cars are usually eye candy. They’re nice to look at, but you wouldn’t want to drive one. The wheels are too big, the roof is too low, and it would be difficult to get into the doors. There is always something.
But the Prius GR looks about right. You can come in and take it around the track or to the mall. The modifications look great, but they are real. They will make the regular Prius lighter, faster and give it better handling. It also makes the Prius a thing of beauty and gives it street cred.
Gazoo Racing has improved aerodynamics and traction with cool performance parts like side skirts, a rear spoiler, a rear diffuser and a large rear spoiler. The weight is cut with a carbon fiber cover.
You get a better connection to the road with a wide-range suspension, 235/50R18-inch tires, and advanced aerodynamic wheels.
The only really cosmetic additions are the honeycomb carbon grille, the GR sticker, and because it’s Le Mans, there are multiple headlights in the bumper.
Details about the interior are sparse but it appears to have a racing theme. The seats, for example, are Supra-style buckets. The GR still has the base model’s excellent large infotainment screen.
Hot hybrid powerhouse of racing success
Visually, the GR is inspired by the GR0101 Hybrid, which dominated its class in endurance racing for several years. Racing is a test for the street, and Toyota will almost certainly put a very hot hybrid in the GR.
With a 194/196-hp Prius straight-line hybrid (FWD/AWD) and a 220-hp Prius Prime PHEV, Toyota already has plenty of power to choose from for the GR. But the assumption is that it will be a PHEV, hence a bigger battery and more horsepower.
That is if they decide to make a production version of GR.
Production of the hot hatch Prius
Will they make a production Prius hot hatch or not? It is impossible to guess Toyota’s strategy in the short to medium term. But GR will make sense as a production model for several reasons.
Toyota is investing heavily in renewable technology, including solid-state batteries and hydrogen energy. PHEV technology is currently a strong pillar of the company’s investment strategy.
It is investing a lot of money in hybrid racing technology. The only reason a car manufacturer would invest in racing is to sell more cars. They can achieve this by using on-track success to build their brand. The next step is to integrate the technology developed into production cars.
Toyota already has several hybrids of similar size and price on the market, including the Corolla Cross, Camry, RAV4 and more. So why Prius?
The Prius brand has a quarter-century of innovation legacy. No one will ignore such an asset. The new and improved 23 Prius looks very much like a reboot of the brand than a swansong.
Expect more and more details of the Prius GR to emerge at auto shows, but the Le Mans launch was a pretty big statement. Look at this space.
Le Mans – the biggest stage in the automotive world
Toyota unveiled the 2025 Prius GR at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. There is no bigger stage in the world of performance cars than Le Mans, especially this year with the centenary race. It’s the perfect launching pad to take the family car to another level.
Le Mans is the largest single racing event in the world. The rivalry between manufacturers, teams and drivers is legendary. Classic Steve McQueen Le Mans And Ford vs Ferrari In honor of this.
Will the Toyota Prius GR revolutionize the electric car market?
The Toyota Prius GR is sure to shake up the electric car market. Like it or not, the future of cars will not depend on traditional internal combustion (ICE). There are three main potential options for replacing an ICE: battery power, hydrogen fuel cell, and hybrid.
Battery power is improving quickly, but there is still range concern. People worry about running out of juice. Charging infrastructure is also limited outside urban areas.
Hydrogen shows a lot of promise, but it is the least mature and will take the longest to achieve.
Hybrid energy is well developed, and does not require additional infrastructure. This technology is closest to ICE in the way it is used, and has no range issues, so adoption by traditional ICE drivers would be the smoothest path.
Prius is a familiar brand. It was a boring car, but it suddenly gained huge appeal for its brand.
If you now add a high-priced hot hatch to the brand, the Prius will shake up the electric car market.
