A recent global trend on the motor sports scene has been the rise of races competed by the FIA's (International Automobile Federation) GT3 regulation cars These FIA GT3 cars are so-called customer racing cars: GT race cars made available by car manufacturers to the general public. Fueling their popularity in racing and sport driving is the fact that drivers or teams can compare the diverse GT3 machines for their performance and defining features as they make their purchase. In Japan, FIA GT3 regulation car compete prominently in events such as the SUPER GT's GT300 class and the ST-X class of the Super Taikyu.
The demands of global competition, in speed, durability and reliability, correspond to the vectors of Lexus' car development philosophy
For a luxury brand such as Lexus to compete in the GT500 class of the SUPER GT, among the most competitive in the motorsport world, is something many people would expect. On the other hand, what would be its motives behind the production of a for-customer, FIA GT3 regulation racing car? And what sort of a developmental process would be adopted? The following is a breakdown of the central features of the RC F GT3 project, including an analysis of the leap to stellar success of this year's model compared to the modesty of its 2015 counterpart.
Lexus strives for further evolution, in car R&D and on to competition support systems
Re-development of the 2017 model LEXUS RC F GT3 began from almost zero. The aim was not just to develop a "competitive racing car capable of winning races," but as we see, a lot of measures were also taken to make sure it was a customer racing car that could compete as a FIA GT3 car on circuits around the world.
We also asked four keypersons that worked on the Lexus FIA GT3 project about it and how its development will continue in the future.