Love Nissan GT-Rs? Then you most certainly would love the Tokyo Auto Salon. Featuring the latest tuning trends and most amazing race cars, much of the content on the show floor was GT-R related this year – although to be honest, the show is GT-R heavy every year.

On display were plenty of modified GT-Rs from tuners like Kansai Service, JUN and even Tommy Kaira. And let’s not forget the race car content, with the outrageous Kondo Advan GT-R GT500 race car, as well as the Motul Autech GT-R (above), which won five of the eight races in Japan’s Super GT series last year.

Check out all the GT-R hardware from this year’s TAS below:

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Racing a Prius might sound like the start of a joke, until you see this. Unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan, this Toyota Prius is fully prepped and sporting its race livery. Significantly wider and lower than a factor model, this Prius is designed to compete in Japan’s Super GT racing series starting this year.

Regulations in the series are loose, so there’s little left of the original Prius here, although the original’s sleek aerodynamic shape is still obvious. Also of note is that the car appears to retain a hybrid drivetrain with the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive logo on the back. Another hint is the massive sponsorship by Panasonic, which supplies the batteries for the road car.

Exactly how this hybrid racer will do remains to be seen and we’ll have to wait for the first round of the Super GT series in March to find out.

GALLERY: Toyota Prius Race Car

See AutoGuide’s complete Tokyo Auto Salon Coverage Here

This year’s LA Auto Show will give us a look at the Subaru BRZ Concept, and even though we don’t even have finalized details on the upcoming vehicle, Subaru has already announced that the BRZ will represent them in the 2012 Super GT Championship in Japan. Obviously Subaru has a long heritage of racing in Japan, and the BRZ will compete in the GT300 class replacing the current STI Legacy B4.

It’s obvious that both Toyota’s FT-86 and Subaru’s BRZ will become the next-generation of popular sports cars, and fielding some entries in Japan’s popular racing series will do wonders in garnering attention towards the new vehicle. Currently it’s believed that the production BRZ will feature a 2.0L naturally-aspirated, four-cylinder boxes engine with around 200-hp (same as what’s found in the FT-86). We’re still keeping our fingers crossed for a turbocharged variant to truly carry on the STI namesake.

GALLERY: Subaru BRZ STI Concept

[Source: egmCarTech]

Toyota has announced its three-man tea of pro racers, who will pilot the brand’s hybrid LMP1 car in the 2012 Le Mans and other races. The list includes former F1 driver and winner of the 2009 24 Hours of Le mans (under Peugeot) Alex Wurz, Team Oreca pilot and last year’s 12 Hours of Sebring winner Nicolas Lapierra and former F1 racer Kaxuki Nakakima.

“I can’t wait to get started and I am fascinated by the new challenge of competing with a hybrid car. It is the future of racing so I am very excited that Toyota comes in with this technology,” said Alex Wurz, one of Toyota’s new drivers.

He, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakakima will start training early in the new year, though it already sounds like their team spirit is coming together.

“Alex is a two-time Le Mans winner so he is a great benchmark for us, but he is also able to build a strong team spirit. I believe the choice of drivers is very good and I am looking forward to working together as a team,” Lapierre said in a press release.

While Wurz brings Le Mans experience to the table, all three drivers are familiar with World Endurance Championship racing.

“Le Mans will be a new experience for me but it is one that I am very much looking forward to. The challenge of Le Mans is famous throughout motorspot so  I can’t wait to race there for the first time. Obviously it is a new experience but I am familiar with endurance racing thanks to my time in Japanese Super GT and this will help me to adjust,” Nakajima said.

Today’s announcement comes after Toyota telling the press late last month that they plan to partner with ORECA Racing Group in developing their new hybrid LMP1 class car.

The decision came after Toyota’s previous solo endeavor at Le Mans failed. Toyota hopes for more success after pairing with championship-winning ORECA. Toyota will contribute the hybrid powertrain while ORECA plans to develop the chassis for their 2012 entrant.

Chrysler is playing with the idea of returning to international GT competition with the next generation of Viper. Chysler dominated with the original Viper in the GTS class with wins at Le Mans 24 Hours from 1998-2000. The American automaker is looking at the possibility of taking on BMW, Ferrari, Chevrolet and Porsche in the GTE category.

Riley Technologies has been commissioned to undertake a technical analysis of the new Dodge Viper which will be available in 2013. The same company, produced the title-winning Grand-Am chassis for the past eight years.

“We are investigating some things and seeing what is out there, although no decision has been made yet. We have to be very careful about what we do”, said Chrysler’s motorsport manager Gary Johnson.

[Source: Auto Sport]

Back in February it was announced that Chevrolet Corvette will once again be competing in Japan’s Super GT series for the 2011 season.

Three years have past since the last Super GT competed and the Corvette has only competed three times in the Super GT class. All three seasons proved to be unsuccessful for the Corvette as the car proved not to be competitive enough with barely enough sponsors to back them up. Photos of the race-prepped Z06R GT3 in full race livery have now hit the net after the first race of the Super GT season. Unfortunately for the Tomei Sports team the car finished 17 our of 18 sports in the GT300 class. Better luck next time.

GALLERY: Corvette Super GT

[Source: Ameblo via Jonsibal Design Works]

In love with Honda’s HSV-010 GT race car replacement for the NSX in Japan’s Super GT Series? Then you won’t want to watch this. At the very first race of the season at Suzuki, three of the GT500 class cars collided on the front straight, taking out two in spectacular fashion.

The video shows the No. 32 Epson HSV-010 the No. 8 ARTA HSV-010 and No. 18 Weider Honda come together in a sandwhich, resulting in both No. 8 and 18 hitting the tire wall at the end of the straight. Takashi Kogure, who was piloting the No. 18 car, was the pole sitter for the race and was poised to contend for the top of the podium.

Instead, the HIS Kondo Nissan GT-R took the checkered flag, with the top Honda (the No. 100 Rabrig car) placing 3rd.

See after the jump for the video and plenty of slow motion replays.

GALLERY: Honda HSV-010 GT

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Honda Racing has officially announced the HSV-010 GT will join Japan’s Super GT racing series this year, releasing a huge selection of photos for those who just can’t get enough of the car. Based on the discontinued NSX replacement (yup, we’re still crying about it too), the HSV-010 is powered by a 3.4-liter V8 that makes 500-ish horsepower and 289 ft-lbs of torque. While the road car was expected to be powered by a V10 and get AWD, this race car is RWD and the V8 engine is thought to be a version of the V8 found in the Acura ARX ALMS cars.

Thanks to a stripped-down interior and bountiful use of carbon fiber, the HSV-010 weighs just 2,424 lbs.

The car will debut  on May 20-21st during the season opener, with four cars expected to compete.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that a successful racing season might make Honda reconsider a road version of the car. Then again, the HSV-010 will be up against some very steep competition in the Super GT series, including several race-prepped Nissan GT-Rs.

GALLERY: Honda Racing HSV-010 GT

Official release after the jump:

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We’re still in awe over the HSV-010 and now there’s even more testosterone pumping video of Honda’s new race car on track at Suzuka. Reportedly powered by a tiny 3.4-liter V8 engine, we can only assume it revs to typically Honda heights to achieve all 500-hp. It certainly sounds like a screamer and we’d argue has an even more Formula One-inspired sound than the Lexus LFA. After all, Honda is known for its engines.

Little else is known about the car other than it will be a race only model and will run in Japan’s Super GT series, with the first race of the season on May 20-21.

We can only hope Honda will bring a street version of this car to market.

GALLERY: Honda HSV-010

See after the jump for more video of Honda’s HSV-010 on track:

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Honda’s race-only replacement for the NSX has now been spied undergoing testing at Japan’s famous Suzuka track. Called the HSV-010 (HSV standing for Honda Sports Velocity), the car is powered by a 3.4-liter V8 engine that makes roughly 500-hp. The car will race in the GT500 class, where all cars are limited to around 500-hp.

We have to say, even in purpose-built race car style the HSV is still a looker and we really wish Honda had plans to bring this car to the streets. Still, the official word from Honda continues to be that this is race-only version. Pity…

Four teams are expected to run the new HSV models in the 2010 Super GT season, with the numbers 8, 18, 32 and 100, with the first race being at Suzuka on May 20-21.

GALLERY: HONDA HSV-010 RACE CAR

Be sure to check after the jump for several videos of the HSV-010 on the track and in the pits at Suzuka.

[Source: MotorsBlog and Circuit Diary via TOV]

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