Toyota is taking a fresh swing at performance with electricity. At the 2025 SEMA Show in Las Vegas (Nov 4–7), the carmaker will pull the covers off the bZ Time Attack Concept — its first battery-electric SEMA build, created to explore what an all-electric Toyota could do on time-attack circuits and hill climbs.
The brief to Toyota’s Motorsports Technical Centre was to push into new territory. Lead builder Marty Schwerter put it plainly: this project is about learning fast and showing how much headroom sits inside Toyota’s BEV platforms.
The concept starts with the forthcoming all-wheel-drive bZ architecture, then turns up the wick.
As is, the 26MY AWD bZ already delivers 338hp and a 0–100kph time of 5.1 seconds in showroom form.
Toyota R&D has re-tuned the electric motors to deliver more than 300 kW (400+ hp) and developed bespoke ECU calibration for track use. The work wasn’t just about power.
Managing battery performance and cooling at sustained speed demanded a rethink of packaging and aero.
That’s where the toolkit came in.
Engineers used laser scanning, CAD and large-format 3D printing to shape a one-off widebody and aero package. Full-scale printed fenders were hand-finished for strength, compressing prototyping time while allowing rapid iterations.
The car now sits around six inches lower with a six-inch wider track, wearing a deep front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and a serious rear wing to stack on downforce without starving the battery and motors of airflow.
Hardware backs up the aero. TEIN coilovers and springs handle the suspension, while an Alcon brake set with Hawk pads, drawn from Toyota’s 86 Cup and Corolla TC race programmes, adds confidence from high speed.
Inside, an FIA-spec 4130 chromoly roll cage and OMP seats and harnesses underline the car’s intent. It rides on 19×11-inch BBS Unlimited wheels with 305/30ZR19 Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 tyres, finished in a crisp mix of pearl white, metallic black and red.
You’ll find it in Toyota’s stand in Central Hall (Booth 22200) under the “Powered by Possibility” theme, alongside the brand’s wider powertrain spread. Toyota says updated bZ models for 2026, promising better range, power and charging, are on the way too.
A final note: this is a modified prototype using non-standard parts. It may affect warranty and safety, and it isn’t necessarily street-legal. The point here is exploration — showing where Toyota’s electric future could go when the brief is simply, “make it fast.”
