Toyota Prepares for Battle With Brand New 2024 Camry XSE, Having “Specific and Strategic” Updates

The battle to be the king of car manufacturers in NASCAR will get more heated next year. In 2023, Toyota knocked it out of the park by placing 5 drivers in the Round of 16. The cars that the Japanese maker put forward were no doubt among the fastest in the field. Though they did have their issues as evidenced by the misfortunes of Martin Truex Jr, their caliber and speed helped accumulate 10 overall wins, despite fielding just six cars.

However, given their playoff woes, it was clear that the current model wouldn’t cut it going into next season. Chevrolet still had a better car and Ford won the championship. With the latter also announcing its new “Dark Horse” model for 2024, Toyota was never going to just sit back. And as expected, they have now unveiled their own new Camry, with all the updates and features they feel will win them a championship.

Toyota unveils its new Camry with a plethora of updates

In 2024, Toyota will feature in the garages of eight different teams. No doubt the maker is on the rise. Adding to its current roster, Legacy Motor Club will join the ranks alongside 23XI Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. With the number of cars expanding and the competition getting tighter, Toyota’s new car, named “Camry XSE Next Gen,” will champion the hopes of some of the best in NASCAR. The XSE is the fifth model that Toyota has introduced in the Cup Series. But this latest one is special for a list of reasons.

Talking about what they have added to the old version that was in use since the Next Gen car came into the fray, David Wilson, Toyota Racing Development-USA’s President, said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, “The process, it took the better of part of the year. Looking at the car, it’s distinctly different than what we raced over the past two years.” Continuing to delve into the physical changes that had been incorporated he mentioned that they would first test the car in the Phoenix track test that is coming in December.

As mentioned, Toyota is the second manufacturer to unveil a new car for 2024. While Ford revealed the “Dark Horse” Mustang, Chevrolet has called to keep with its current model until production runs out early next year.

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The impressive features of the Camry XSE that will fight the Dark Horse and the ZL1

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Talking about how his engineers had blended form and function together very well, Wilson told NASCAR, “Our really smart aerodynamicists have got it to look pretty good in the wind tunnel. So I love it when we can build a great-looking car and a car that’s true to the design, but it’s going to be good on the race track as well.” The on-paper results that he has seen so far provide confidence that the XSE will run as well as it looks to him.

When the car gets on the track at Phoenix, it will have undergone a complete makeover. Up front, it will feature a slim upper grill that joins the new narrow headlamps. Wilson calls this the “hammerhead styling.” Below, a lower grill is edged by a pair of vents that finish off the front face. At the back, a new slimmer taillight highlights the appearance. Interestingly, the street version of the XSE is a hybrid-electric vehicle and carries a “beyond zero” badge as an ode to Toyota’s carbon neutrality goals. The same goal being on NASCAR’s to-do list as well, we get a slight gist of where Toyota cars could be headed in the future.

The complete design is expected to serve the brand identity of Toyota. But as Wilson says, the car is an obvious competitor on the track as well. 2024 will mark Toyota’s 17th year of association with Joe Gibbs Racing, and 4th with the new 23XI Racing. As he said, all that’s left to wait for now is the Phoenix track test to see how good the Camry XSE runs.

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