Toyota Sports Corner is Established

Toyota is a well-established Japanese automaker with a history in race car manufacturing. Toyota Sports Corner (Tosco) was established in the late 1950s to prepare a racing vehicle for the 19-day endurance contest in Australia. Though the Tosco vehicle didn’t win the contest that year, it successfully completed the course with almost no damage…a huge victory for the Tosco team.

Toyota of Rock Hill has a large selection of new, used, and certified pre-owned Toyota vehicles. Perhaps you are looking for a piece of Toyota racing history with our iconic Camry. Or one of our more spacious vehicles like the Tacoma TRD or Toyota Highlander.

Visit Toyota of Rock Hil, we are your local Toyota dealer located in Rock Hill, SC. Come in and one of our sales specialists will help you find the Toyota model that suits your driving needs.

Tosco’s First Racing Vehicle: Toyopet Crown

The first Tosco race car was the Toyopet Crown and its first race was in Australia in 1957. The racecourse was about 10,500 miles. Tosco manufactured a four-door vehicle comprising spare parts and plenty of extra fuel that weighed almost 5,000 pounds.

In a race that thirty-four vehicles failed to finish, the Tosco team was pleased that their vehicle finished at all. Even more pleased that they were in 47th place, and third among foreign entrants. Excited by this success, Toyota raced another Crown in 1958 in the Yomiuri Round Japan Rally. This time the Tosco vehicle won the event.

The Inaugural Japanese Grand Prix 1963

Confident from their initial successes, Tosco began to focus on preparing cars for Japan’s first Grand Prix taking place in 1963. Toyota had three entries, a 2.0-liter Crown, 1.6-litre Corona, and 700cc Publica, which all won their respective classes.

As so begins an enthusiasm for motorsports in Japan. The two-day Grand Prix event had 150,000 people in attendance. Eleven races took place over the weekend and vehicles were categorized based on engine size. The next year, every domestic vehicle manufacturer took part in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Expanding Motorsport Activities with Toyota Racing Development

In the early seventies, Tosco was renamed to Toyota Racing Development. This re-named division continued to focus on growing. In 1979, a second base was set up in North America to help TRD with its worldwide expansion.

TRD wanted to expand Toyota’s motorsport activities and to develop and sell related performance accessories. Toyota vehicles participated in all racing disciplines, aligned with club racers and private teams. The brand was enjoying success with the Corolla and Celica coupes, which proved to be durable and fast.

TRD continued to build competitors for race series, with TRD USA developing for both on-track and off-road series races. More success came with the development of the V8 Tundra and V8 Camry engines for the NASCAR Cup series.

Toyota: Committed to the Art of Driving

Toyota is proud of its racing heritage and its history of manufacturing reliable and high performing vehicles. This same dedication is brought to the consumer market with every Toyota car.

Toyota of Rock Hill is pleased to be your local Toyota dealer. We offer exceptional customer service whether you are shopping for a new car or visiting our service center. Our Rock Hill Toyota dealer provides a professional shopping experience.