Toyota is even facelifting its NASCAR race cars now

Toyota unveiled a new look Camry in the US earlier this month and announced that the four-door saloon would go hybrid only with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine mated to two small electric motors.

There's still one Camry that eschews any form of electricity, though – the new Camry XSE Next Gen for the NASCAR Cup Series is powered by a 5.9-litre naturally aspirated V8 that makes 670bhp at certain circuits where that much power is allowed. That’s more like it.

The XSE is essentially just a NASCAR facelift that follows on from the Camry TRD Next Gen – a car that secured 18 victories and 25 pole positions in the previous two seasons. There are new fake lights and bumpers front and rear to reflect the road-going Camry’s new design, but also a few aero and engineering tweaks at the same time to improve the car’s performance. Ford has done the same of course with the new Cup Series Mustang Dark Horse for 2024.

“The foundation of Toyota’s presence in NASCAR is our commitment to continuous improvement on and off the race track,” said David Wilson, president of the excellent Toyota Racing Development division in the US.

“Our Camry XSE race car reinforces that mantra and accurately reflects the key design attributes of the all-new production Toyota Camry. As we prepare for the 2024 season, we look forward to working closely with our race team partners to optimise the performance of the newly-designed Camry race car so we can continue our legacy of leading laps, winning races and competing for championships with the Camry nameplate.”

We’re told that some of the improvements include new C-shaped corner vents, new bonnet vents and ‘chamfered bumper corners’ at the rear. Stop sniggering at the back…