We were in Johor Bahru yesterday and decided to stop by Toyota Plentong’s showroom to check out the first (and so far ONLY) GR Garage located within their showroom.
The GR Garage was first conceptualised and deployed in Japan. It’s a shop within the dealership that specialises in selling Gazoo Racing merchandise and official performance parts for Toyota vehicles.
It’s also where you’ll usually find a GR-specced vehicles like the all-new Supra or in Toyota Plentong’s case, this tricked out 86.
Unfortunately, this particular car was the only one on the showroom floor that wasn’t up for sale.
While a Supra was absent from this GR Garage, its specifications and technical figures were displayed, indicating that it was probably either sold or out on its marketing rounds.
We also got to see what awards Mutiara Motorsports had snagged since joining the Vios Cup, which is now in its 3rd season.
Of course, being the only GR Garage in the Southern Region, a framed photograph of the Johor Sultan, DYMM Sultan Ibrahim ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj, standing next to his Lightning Yellow A90 Toyota Supra. He was the first in Malaysia to own one, so this special place in the GR Garage gallery is doubly deserved.
Besides the showcase, the GR Garage also houses official GR high performance parts and merchandise from Toyota’s local motorsport activities.
Mr. Akio Takeyama, UMW Toyota Motors’ Deputy Chairman said that Toyota’s local motorsports activities were only one part of their efforts.
“So we have come up with a new platform – the GR Garage, a place where they can gather and talk about their passion of cars… especially sportscars and motorsports,” he said.
Toyota Plentong’s GR Garage was setup and launched on the 28th of September 2019, just 8 days after its official Malaysian launch. Here’s a clip from Japan’s official GR Garage. Malaysia is the first country outside Japan to introduce this, so we may eventually see it evolve to this level if it proves successful.
For more on Toyota Plentong’s GR Garage, check out their press release and news coverage here.
PRESS RELEASE
Mutiara Motorsports Sdn. Bhd. was appointed as Malaysia’s first (and currently only) certified GR Garage for Malaysia’s southern region.
GR Garage was introduced in Japan some years ago to cater to car enthusiasts. GR Garage is a place where enthusiasts can gather and talk about their passion of cars, especially sportscars and motorsports.
The GR Garage will be carrying Gazoo Racing specific products including GR high performance products, parts and accessories and GR merchandises to provide a “shop in shop” experience to the customers.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is the umbrella organisation for Toyota’s global motorsports programme. Toyota aims to transfer technical learnings from the racetrack and rally stages to the development of new generations sports focused GR models, as its wider range of vehicles.
We would like to welcome all to GR Garage of Johor!
