Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Toyota's Performance Car ResurgenceAbout 20 years ago, Toyota's performance car offerings had all but dried up. The MR2 Spyder had been discontinued in the U.S, and the Celica was on its last legs. The next couple of years saw Japan's biggest automaker roll along without any models that would get the heart racing.Thankfully, that was rectified with the GT 86, initially called the Scion FR-S in America. What followed was a flurry of sports models that, in many ways, brought back Toyota's mojo. After the 86, the Supra returned in 2017, and its first serious hot hatch, the GR Yaris, followed in 2020. The GR Corolla debuted in 2022, and now the first standalone GR model has been revealed: the GT. Toyota, of all brands, is waving the flag for Japanese performance cars worldwide.ToyotaBuilt by SpecialistsHagerty, specifically Larry Chen, was recently granted exclusive access to the GR assembly line. There, we not only see how the cars are made but also how seriously Toyota takes its performance cars. By the time you finish the video, there's a good chance you'll have a greater appreciation for the GR models.AdvertisementAdvertisementFor starters, the GR Yaris, GR Corolla, and Lexus LBX Morizo RR aren't built on the same assembly line as their more pedestrian counterparts. These cars are built in a dedicated facility within the Motomachi plant. It's something that Toyota didn't need to do to save costs, but did anyway. That said, it's worth mentioning that the new U.S-bound GR Corollas are made in England, not Japan.Chen noted that GR models are built more by hand than by robots. That's because the structures of these cars are much stiffer than standard ones. There's additional spot welding done, and there's heaps more structural adhesives to make the cars as rigid as possible. But what amazes the most is the speed of the line workers, and the attention to detail given by those who build the cars is truly something else. The entire video is over 40 minutes long, but every minute is worth watching.Bonus ContentIf that wasn't enough, Chen was also allowed to do a ride-along with a mid-engined GR Yaris prototype. Mind you, the test mule doesn't have the new G20E; instead, sticking with the G16E. Still, that's one heck of a privilege, and Chen said that the car moves differently, completely transforming the small hot hatch. If Toyota is, indeed, working on an MR2, it's looking very promising.The video also explored the passionate engineers of GR. Turns out, there are amateur and professional racing drivers who build and develop the cars. If anything, the entire operation is run by people with fuel in their veins and not merely people doing a job for the sake of it. Of course, it helps that the chairperson doesn't just have his family name on the building, but is also a hands-on car guy. Oh, there's even a quick tour of Akio Toyoda's 'man cave' within the facility.ToyotaThis story was originally published by Autoblog on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.