Showroom Rivals Hyundai, Toyota Join Forces for Unique High-Performance Showcase

Hyundai and Toyota gathered to play nice in the same sandbox at the inaugural Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival in South Korea.

Top executives for both companies showed off a sampling of each others' high performance production and race cars.

The idea for the unique car show experience was born out of both leaders' passion for racing.

Few race fans would ever question the premise that motorsports can bring the world together—just look at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Indianapolis 500 or the Formula 1 World Championship. The attention of car lovers and race fans focus on any of these events.

Normally, however, motorsports pits one manufacturer against another. Over the weekend that script got flipped in a good way, as leaders of showroom rivals Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota Motor Corporation gathered to play nice in the same sandbox at the inaugural Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival.

The event held at Yongin Speedway in Yongin, South Korea, afforded Hyundai executive chair Euisun Chang and Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda a chance to show off a sampling of each others' high performance production and race cars.

“With our high-performance N brand, we’re committed to delivering excitement and satisfying all car enthusiasts. We’ll continue to push forward in motorsport alongside Toyota so that more people can enjoy the thrill of driving,” said Hyundai's Chung. “When I met with chairman Akio Toyoda earlier this year, we discovered our mutual passion for racing, and I was delighted that we could hold this event. Chairman Toyoda is someone in the automotive industry that I respect deeply, and it’s an honor to be here with him today."

Toyoda said the idea for the event came together this past winter.

"Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of meeting with executive chair Chung in Japan, where this wonderful idea took shape," Toyoda said. "And here we are, just 10 months later, making this incredible event a reality. Together, Toyota and Hyundai are joining hands to create a better society and shape the future of mobility."

Featured were Hyundai's i20 N Rally 1 Hybrid, two i20 N Rally 2 competition cars for customer motorsport, and its Ioniq 5 N, Elantra N and the Ioniq 5 N Drift Spec.

Hyundai N’s show run drivers included Thierry Neuville, who is currently leading the 2024 World Rally Championship drivers’ championship, WRC drivers Dani Sordo, Andreas Mikkelsen, and Mikel Azcona, the 2022 World Touring Car Cup champion.

Toyota showcased were the GR Yaris Rally 1 Hybrid, GR Yaris Rally 2, GR Supra and GR86. Toyota drivers putting the cars through their paces were WRC driver Takamoto Katsuta, Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, and Norihiko Katsuta, a nine-time Japanese Rally champion.

Select customers and fans had the opportunity to drive their own high-performance Toyotas and Hyundais on the Yongin Speedway circuit. There were also ride-alongs, product showcases and gaming booths.

Sounds like our kind of car show.