That’s no typo … The last Toyota you ever thought you’d see in Super GT is headed to the famed Japanese road racing series. The ultimate Point A-to-Point B appliance car, the Prius is a bottom feeder when it comes to performance, being the butt of many a joke through its four generations of development. Its ascension to grace is now complete. We saw a gaggle of Prius based show cars at last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, highlighted by the Kuhl Racing wide body. We also featured a seductive show-build Prius in our SEMA Show coverage … now the circle is complete as the fuel miser is no a legit Super GT competitor. Thing is this Prius is a second generation race car and the team that built it is expecting to see some checkered flags in 2016.

Built in cooperation with APR Racing, the dramatic new model will make its race debut at the season opener in April at Okayama International Circuit. APR Racing team director Hiroto Kineso introduced the car with pride, aware that this new Japan-made product would be competing head-to-head with established supercars from predominantly European brands. He also took care to point out the direct link with TRD’s new anniversary edition Prius, built in commemoration of 40 years since the establishment of Toyota Racing Development.

Apparently, the aerodynamic enhancements fitted to the TRD road car were designed from the outset with Super GT regulations in mind and were honed using computational fluid dynamics technology. The lower front spoiler is therefore virtually identical to the race car’s, while other elements bear aesthetic similarities, albeit in exaggerated forms. The raced out Prius doesn’t look at all ike a Prius which only serves to nurture and prolong that sense of dis-belief that it is a Prius. But wide-boy aero can cure many an ailment.

Equipped with a mid-mounted 3.4-liter ‘RV8K’ V8 race engine (above) and an output capped in line with GT300 regulations, the new Super GT Prius is arguably the fastest of its kind in the world. But by adopting the new Prius’s improved Hybrid Synergy Drive system – relocated to the passenger footwell for better weight distribution – this racing Prius clearly hasn’t forgotten its roots as Toyota’s environmental icon.

APR Racing will field two Prius models in the 2016 Super GT season. The #30 car will be piloted by Hiroaki Nagai and Kota Sasaki, while driving duties in the #31 car will be shared by Koki Saga and Yuichi Nakayama.

Commenting on his time racing the outgoing GT300 Prius, Koki Saga said: “The hybrid system reached a certain maturity with the previous model and now we have the new model, which has [become the] strongest machine APR have ever had. We won twice last year… so our goal this year is to win three times and get the championship.”

Sounds nice but this thing doesn’t get very good gas mileage … they know that, right?