This Toyota race car was so wild it forced the competition into early retirement

  • The Eagle MKIII was a collaboration between Toyota and Dan Gurney
  • The car competed in the top class of IMSA, the GTP category
  • The MKIII was so fast that it forced a rewrite of the rules

Published on Jun 01, 2025 at 8:29 AM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall

Last updated on May 29, 2025 at 4:47 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Tom Wood

The Toyota Eagle MKIII was a race car so dominant that it destroyed the championship it was racing in.

The car was created from a partnership between Toyota and Dan Gurney’s All American Racers (AAR) team, and it made its debut in the early 1990s.

It competed at the height of the IMSA GTA era, yet it proved so quick and so dominant that the series had to kill the class it was racing in.

The Eagle MKIII will go down in history as one of the most dominant cars in motorsports history.

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The Eagle MKIII followed on from the Eagle HF89 that AAR had raced from 1989 to 1991.

However, the HF89 needed work to make it a truly successful car.

So the team began the development of the new MKIII.

Toyota assisted in the development of the car, providing it with an inline-four 2.1-liter turbocharged engine with a Garrett turbocharger.

That mighty engine produced a whopping 800hp at 8,000rpm with the car in race trim.

However, in qualifying mode, the MKIII could produce a mesmerizing 1,000hp.

The race car only weighed 1,184lbs thanks to its carbon fiber chassis.

The real party piece for the Eagle MKIII, however, was its incredible aerodynamics.

At the front was a unique diffuser, which helped to stabilize airflow around the underbody.

Venturi tunnels, used in ground-effect cars, and a dual-element rear wing helped to keep the MKIII firmly on the ground.

That led to 6,600lbs of downforce at speeds of 190mph.

In short, the Eagle MKIII was glued to the race track, with the car able to corner at incredible speeds.

Thanks to this, the car started to bring home some amazing results.

Out of 27 races, it won 21 of them, which included a streak of 14 in a row.

In 1993, the car won 10 out of 11 races, only missing out at Road America as the team didn’t participate.

The dominance of the car led to rivals Nissan and Jaguar pulling out of the series, unable to match its pace.

In the end, IMSA was forced to rewrite the top-class rules to stop the dominant run of the Eagle MKIII.

But with 21 wins, 18 pole positions, and two teams’, constructors’, and drivers’ championships apiece, the Eagle MKIII’s legacy was set in stone.

It will go down in history as one of the greatest cars in motorsport history.

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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.