Toyota launches R$ 12.800 kart that fits in the back of a car

Toyota has started selling an entry-level kart in Japan for 385,000 yen (about R$12,800 with taxes included). The GR Kart, with a 215 cm³ engine, was designed to fit in the back of a minivan, be stored upright in the garage and require minimal maintenance — the three barriers that, according to the automaker, keep families away from karting.

The price is the main argument: an equivalent set assembled with chassis and engine from traditional karting suppliers, such as TonyKart and Birel, would cost at least three times as much. In Brazil, surveys of karting stores and schools indicate that a new entry-level kart, with a four-stroke engine, costs between R$ 10 thousand and R$ 20 thousand – a range in which the Toyota model would fit at the bottom end.

The account also changes because the GR Kart does not require a trailer, pickup truck or any specialized vehicle. Toyota claims that the single-seater enters in one piece, without disassembly, in the back of minivans such as the Noah and Voxy, both smaller than the Sienna sold in the United States.

Designed to be stored upright

The kart can be stored vertically. For this, it received a specific oil reservoir, diaphragm carburetor without float and filling nozzle designed to minimize leaks in this position, which avoids draining gasoline and oil with each transport. The same carburetor helps to maintain constant power in high lateral force curves.

With 1.82 m in length, 1.16 m in width, 67 cm in height and 83 kg, the GR Kart can be adjusted for drivers from 1.35 m to 1.85 m, which allows father and son to use the same equipment on the same day. There is room for up to 15 kilos of ballast, if the category requires minimum weight.

Maintenance follows the same logic. The kart uses a belt instead of a chain, which eliminates lubrication, and an automatic tensioner does not require adjustments before each use. The battery recharges itself and a priming pump prepares the carburetor before starting. Axles and fuel lines are stainless steel.

Sale restricted to Japan

The GR Kart has been on sale since September 10, only on 36 accredited tracks and seven GR Garage stores in Japan. Production is handmade, done at the GR Kart workshop in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, under the same principles as the automaker’s production system.

The initiative is based on an old goal of Akio Toyoda, chairman of the board of Toyota: to transform motorsport into a popular activity, comparable to baseball or football. Outside Japan, however, the model runs into regulations. In the United States, the main kart categories are limited to 100 cm³ and 125 cm³, and in Brazil the official speed classes also work with smaller displacements – which would restrict the GR Kart to training and events specific to the brand.

• 
• 
• 
•