TOYOTA GOES FULL SEND WITH THE BZ TIME ATTACK CONCEPT - A TRACK EV WEAPON BUILT FOR SEMA DOMINATION
When Toyota shows up to SEMA, you expect something wild - lifted Tacomas, turbo Supras, GR everything. But this year, the brand took a massive leap into new territory with its first-ever battery-electric SEMA concept build: the bZ Time Attack Concept. A low, wide, and aggressive BEV built to crush time attack circuits and hill climbs. At its core, the concept started life as a 2026 Toyota bZ AWD - a 338 hp EV that already sprints from 0-100 km/h in under 5 seconds straight off the showroom floor. But the Toyota Motorsports Technical Centre had no intention of leaving it stock. Under the watch of Marty Schwerter, a name long associated with Toyota’s most hardcore SEMA builds, a team of engineers turned the humble bZ into something worthy of a stopwatch and a helmet. “We wanted to push ourselves into unexplored territory,” says Schwerter. “It’s a chance to explore, learn, and create something that shows just how much potential exists within Toyota’s BEV platforms.” That potential translated into an all-out rethink of what an EV can do when aerodynamics, battery tech, and motorsport logic collide.
Building the bZ Time Attack Concept wasn’t your typical bolt-on affair. You can’t just slap a widebody kit on an EV and call it a day - cooling, aero balance, and battery management all need a fresh approach. The team went hybrid in their methods: old-school race fabrication meets modern additive manufacturing.
Fender arches were laser-scanned, CAD-modelled, and 3D-printed to full scale before being hand-finished for strength and precision. Toyota’s Add Lab in Georgetown, Kentucky, led by Greg Stewart and Dallas Martin, made it happen using rapid prototyping to cut down build time and allow multiple design iterations before the show. The ride height drops by six inches, while the track width grows by another six. It’s now wearing a full race-spec aero package - front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser, and a massive wing that looks like it could generate its own weather system. Underneath that sculpted skin, the bZ Time Attack Concept packs over 300 kW from Toyota R&D-tuned motors, sending torque to all four wheels via custom ECU calibration. The chassis is stiffened with a full FIA-spec 4130 chromoly roll cage, while suspension duty falls to TEIN coilovers and springs for race-grade precision.
Braking is handled by an Alcon setup with Hawk pads, borrowed straight from Toyota’s 86 Cup and Corolla TC programs. Keeping it glued to the tarmac are 305/30ZR19 Continental Extreme Contact Sport 02s, wrapped around forged 19×11-inch BBS Unlimited wheels. The result is a package that’s every bit as serious as Toyota’s factory race cars - only this one hums instead of roars. Every surface tells a story of innovation. The custom tri-colour paint scheme - pearl white, metallic black, and red - is a visual signature linking the brand’s racing heritage with its electric future. It’s bold but functional, showing off the crisp edges of 3D-printed panels while honouring the traditional handcraft that finished them.
This blend of digital precision and analogue expertise defines the project’s ethos. It’s not just about making a show car - it’s about discovering how far Toyota can push EV tech into the world of motorsport. “The goal wasn’t to simply create a showpiece,” Schwerter explains. “It was to see how far the new bZ platform could be pushed in a motorsport setting.”
Take a look at the YouTube video from the Toyota USA chaps that's part of a series showing the build of this EV time attack car: "bZ Time Attack Concept": SEMA Build Episode 1 | Toyota | Toyota USA
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