NASCAR News: New Toyota Camry Racer Revealed for 2013

The final competitor for next year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was revealed recently in Salisbury, N.C., when the 2013 Toyota Camry racecar made its first public appearance. And speaking of appearances, the one shown off by the competition Camry will bear a striking resemblance to same sedans offered across the country at local Toyota dealerships.

“We’re thrilled to finally unveil our new 2013 Camry and we think NASCAR fans will really appreciate that our new on-track Camry looks like the one in their driveways,” said Ed Laukes, vice president of marketing communications and motorsports for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “Our 2013 Camry looks more like the production vehicle than ever before, and we hope this helps revitalize the long-standing relationship between fans and manufacturers in NASCAR. Never before have we had a Camry competing in NASCAR that looked so similar to its production counterpart.”

2013 NASCAR Toyota Camry: What’s New

With NASCAR facing new challenges for its fans’ attention, the organization has given competitors some newfound freedom in terms of exterior design for 2013, and all four automakers have responded with racers that are much more similar to their retail relatives than in past years. It’s an attempt at achieving ye olde win-win outcome, as NASCAR hopes to attract more eyeballs and the automakers expect to attract more customers for their new mid-size sedans. As a reminder, three of the four Sprint Cup rivals will be based on all-new production vehicles, including the next-gen Fusion and the all-new Chevrolet SS sport sedan as well as the Camry, which was completely overhauled for the 2012 model year.

For the latter, that meant calling on both Toyota Racing Development and the automaker’s Calty Design group, who combined to develop a new grille for the Camry racer, implement distinct character lines along its flanks, and redesign its rear bumper.

“We’re extremely proud of the new Camry and the development of the car was truly a unique process,” said Lee White, president and general manager of TRD. “NASCAR and all four manufacturers were brought together to guide the direction of the new cars. We all worked together to put the ‘S’ back in NASCAR—we all wanted race cars that look more like our stock, production models—and together we accomplished that. Our new Camry for 2013 is a great looking racecar. Everyone at Toyota is eager to have our drivers in a race car that more resembles the street Camry.”