Toyota is preparing a performance twin-turbo V8

Toyota Gazoo Racing has officially confirmed rumours it will build a twin-turbo V8 for future Lexus performance cars within a statement on its 24 Hours of Nürburgring Endurance Race campaign next year.

The race, which will see Gazoo Racing race its Lexus LC SP Pro Class car for the third year, will be adopting a “newly-developed V8 twin-turbo engine destined for use on future road cars such as sports car”.

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The LC race car will also be fitted with new low-weight high-rigidity body structure and suspension system, as well as new driver control systems, all of which are also planned for use in future models.

Rumours of a twin-turbo V8 first surfaced as far back as 2017, with speculation that it is destined for the hi-po Lexus LC F, though little has been heard of that engine since.

Further rumours speculate that Lexus would ditch V8’s altogether in favour of a tuned version of the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 used in the new LS500. Though it looks like that might not be entirely the case with this latest development.

The twin-turbo V8 is expected to be a fitting replacement for Lexus’ current performance V8, the Yamaha-developed 5-litre naturally-aspirated 2UR-GSE V8 engine that has been in service for nearly 12 years and is still being used in the RC F, GS F, and LC500.

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Toyota is yet to release any further technical information on the upcoming engine, though it should be producing the sort of numbers that would allow Lexus performance cars to mount a worthy challenge to its German counterparts, which are all boasting power levels in the 400kW region.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing team will take to the Nürburgring with the LC race car from May 21 to 24, 2020.