Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda flipped a GR Yaris rally car during testing

Chairman Akio Toyoda recently opened a new Toyota R&D facility with a destroyed GR Yaris rally car behind him. Turns out, Toyoda himself was behind the wheel when it flipped over onto its roof. Rather than scrap it, he decided to use it as a symbol of how the new facility can help improve Toyota's carmaking.

The Shimoyama R&D center is said to be the new base for GR and Lexus vehicles. Located in a mountainous region about 30 minutes from Toyota's headquarters in Toyota City, it covers 1,600 acres with multiple courses and a building that houses 3,000 employees.

One of those courses is a 3.3-mile road course patterned after the famed Nürburgring, with plenty of elevation changes and different types of corners. It's well known that Toyota and other manufacturers rent time at the Nürburgring to test their performance cars. However, companies must ship cars, personnel and equipment halfway around the world to test there during limited windows. The Shimoyama proving grounds allow Toyota to conduct testing in-house with a massive 40-bay garage and full-time mechanics, engineers and designers all in one place. Toyoda says this will speed up car development significantly.