TOYOTA MIGHT SELL THE CENTURY AND GR GT THROUGH ITS LEXUS DEALERS
In a somewhat surprising move, Toyota and Lexus jointly revealed their GR GT and LFA supercars last week, with the former getting a new twin-turbocharged V8 and the latter going all-electric. What could be even more surprising is that Toyota doesn't plan on selling the flagship supercar through its own dealer network, potentially turning to its luxury brand instead. According to reporting from The Drive, the automaker will rely on Lexus' sterling reputation for customer satisfaction on the sales and service front, meaning the GR GT and LFA could not only share platforms and performance specs, but dealer showrooms as well.
Big Spenders Deserve Big Perks
With an anticipated base price of $225,000, the Toyota GR GT is far more expensive than anything the company has ever offered, at least in the US. As a result, Toyota may be feeling some trepidation about subjecting it to the same showrooms that attract Prius and Tundra shoppers who'll no doubt be tempted to get their grubby mitts all over the supercar. We kid, but in all seriousness, the automaker likely wants to cultivate some cachet for the GR GT, and selling it in brightly lit dealerships with Toyotathon balloons and those inflatable tube dancers probably isn't the mystique the company is aiming for.
The automaker will likely offer the supercar at its network of GR Garage dealerships in Japan and other parts of the world, which as you might expect specialize exclusively in high-performance vehicles and custom parts to fit them. But the GR Garage doesn't exist in the United States and establishing another retail network could be prohibitively expensive, so in order to provide its most affluent customers with a great retail experience, Toyota says it's planning on tapping select Lexus dealers to market the GR GT, likely at locations that sold the previous-generation LFA.
Sibling Rivalry On The Showroom Floor
Speaking of, that means that the specially chosen Lexus dealers will be responsible for selling a car that could be perceived as a competitor for their own product. The next-generation LFA will arrive on the scene around the same time as the GR GT, and we could see Lexus dealers getting a little precious about their own product, especially since the Gazoo Racing sub-brand is relatively new in the Toyota portfolio. But that potential friction has an easy solution.
Codeveloped alongside the GR GT, the new LFA has its own design inside and out – largely previewed by the Lexus Sport Concept in August – but it will come exclusively with an all-electric powertrain, rather than the hot-V, twin-turbo V8 of the Toyota. That alone could give Lexus an easy way to market both cars. Customers who want the thrilling soundtrack of an internal combustion supercar can opt for the Toyota GR GT, while those looking for maximum acceleration and futuristic technology can go for the torquey LFA EV.
That split focus will also help certain Lexus dealers market Toyota's other high-dollar brand, the recently created Century division. What was formerly a name for the extremely limited-production Toyota luxury sedan has become another sub-brand for the automaker, one that might show up in the US to rival Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Such a vehicle would also be sold at select Lexus dealers, according to The Drive, for similar reasons. We could eventually see Toyota establishing a joint Century/GR dealership network if the products prove popular enough, but until then, the highest-performing Lexus retailers will see their hard work rewarded with some of Toyota's most anticipated new debuts in history.
2025-12-10T10:09:38Z