Coincides with 2018 Production Model Reveal
DETROIT (January 9, 2017) – In an unprecedented event, Toyota today unveiled its 2018 NASCAR Toyota Camry race car in unison with the debut of the 2018 production Camry at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Following a dramatic redesign to its show room counterpart, the Camry race car will compete on the race track in 2017 as Toyota defends its NASCAR Premier Series manufacturer’s championship.
“The 2018 Toyota Camry NASCAR race car has been years in the making, and to unveil it simultaneously with our new production Camry is a milestone moment for our organization,” said Ed Laukes, Vice President of Integrated Marketing Operations for Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A. “The collaboration between Calty Design Group and TRD has produced a NASCAR Camry that showcases aggressive styling that is sure to turn heads on the race track and among our fans in Toyota showrooms across the country. Reimagining both the Camry race car and its production counterpart has been a tremendous undertaking and our goal has been to maintain parallel design characteristics so our fans can enjoy driving a Camry that closely resembles the one their favorite NASCAR driver races each weekend.”
Spearheaded by Camry chief designer Masato Katsumata, the production Camry received a radical redesign for 2018 and engineers from Calty Design Research, Inc., Toyota’s North American design studio, and TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) worked together to ensure the NASCAR Camry showcased the same aggressive attributes as its updated production sibling. TRD and Calty worked together with NASCAR throughout the process.
Calty previously worked with Toyota and TRD to update the NASCAR Camry when NASCAR introduced its Gen-6 models in 2013, and again when Toyota updated the Camry race car in 2015. The design group also worked with TRD on the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series Camry, the 2014 Toyota Tundra for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the current NHRA Funny Car Camry.
Toyota entered NASCAR Premier Series competition with the Camry in 2007 and the manufacturer won its first driver’s championship in 2015, followed by its first manufacturer’s championship in 2016. Camry drivers have won 95 NASCAR Premier Series races over 10 seasons.
The NASCAR Camry will make its debut on-track in 2017 prior to the 2018 production Camry hitting showroom floors at Toyota dealerships later this year. The NASCAR Camry will first compete at Daytona International Speedway on February 18 in The Clash at Daytona before defending its Daytona 500 title on Sunday, Feb. 26.
For more information on the new 2018 Toyota Camry, please visit http://toyota.us/2hsVMi3.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.5 million in the U.S.) in 2015 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
About TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development)
TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Salisbury, N.C. A subsidiary of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., TRD serves as the North American racing arm for design, development and assembly of Toyota’s factory racing engines and chassis. TRD powers Toyota’s racing activities in NASCAR, NHRA and USAC, among other series.
