Years before Toyota’s global Gazoo Racing – or GR – performance division arrived in Australia there was a short-lived local initiative that strived to add some character and edge to the brand. TRD, or Toyota Racing Development, was a name already well known in Japan and the USA, where it continues to flourish to this day.
TRD Australia was revealed to the world at the Melbourne Motor Show in March, 2007, along with its first model, a supercharged 241kW version of the locally-built 3.5-litre V6 Aurion large sedan.
In February 2008, TRD Australia’s second model based on the HiLux crew cab ute was rolled out at the Brisbane motor show.
Just 10 months later, Toyota Australia unexpectedly announced the closure of TRD, citing the global financial crisis and the need to conserve cash.
Considering TRD had already sold about 900 vehicles in an 18-month lifespan, it seemed a harsh call for a project that had taken a decade and significant effort from some of Toyota Australia’s best and brightest young talent to bring to fruition.
Certainly, there seems more to the story than was detailed in the press release at the time.
Not that TRD’s closure impacted the growth of Toyota in Australia in subsequent years. Nor did the much more seismic decision to end local manufacturing in 2017. The brand now consistently sells 200,000 or more vehicles here per annum – about double number two Mazda –
