The Tokyo Auto Salon 2026 took place at Makuhari Messe in Chiba from January 9 to 11, attracting around 270,000 visitors from Japan and abroad to one of the world’s largest tuning and custom car festivals.
The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) booth featured the GR Yaris Morizo RR (prototype) built using the lessons learned from last year’s attempt at the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race, and the GR Yaris (prototype) customized to reflect the personality of nine-time World Rally Championship winner Sébastien Ogier.
Drawing extra attention were the GR GT and GR GT3, which both had their world premieres last December.
The two vehicles were revealed to the public at the Auto Salon and staged demo runs on the second day. It was the first time the cars had ever been shown in motion. Morizo likened the moment to a wedding, saying it felt as though he was giving away the bride. When the veils were lifted from the two cars, cameras everywhere turned toward them.
Another event that brought smiles to attendees was the theme of the TGR booth: fights. You can get details of the three fights in a recent Toyota Times article, but one in particular asked for audience participation. A showdown with Daihatsu over customized kei trucks was decided by a public vote.
The truck customized by Daihatsu’s team went head-to-head with the one modified by driver Masahiro Sasaki. The attendees commented, “The Daihatsu truck is chunky and looks like it could go off-road,” and “They both look like they were really fun to build.”
The total vote count was 7,099. So, who won the battle?