Who is Morizo?

“Morizo” is certainly the most famous Gentleman Driver in the world and the President of a well-known manufacturer.

Akio “Morizo” Toyoda, grandson of Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda, is today, beyond his responsibilities at the top of the brand, the “master driver” of Toyota, meaning the official test driver for the manufacturer. This colorful character has become Morizo alongside Hiromu Naruse, Toyota’s former test driver, who was his mentor for 14 years.

The two men met for the first time after Akio, who was serving as vice-president of a subsidiary in the United States, returned to Japan. Naruse did not hesitate to challenge the son of his boss, who was still new but destined to take his place. “It’s annoying that someone at the top of the hierarchy like you knows nothing about the basics of driving but merely gets in a car and comments on this or that,” he bluntly told him before adding more. “Test drivers risk their lives to create better cars. Talking about this or that without mastering the subject only causes problems.” Touched by Akio’s listening, he then made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. “If you want, I’ll teach you how to drive for real.” All the clichés of a good manga, but for real!

And Akio became Morizo

At the time, Akio was already over 40, but he decided to let himself be guided to become, in his own words, “the final arbiter” of all Toyota vehicles produced, meaning the man with the last word.
A few years later, in 2007, Naruse, Akio, and their test driver colleagues launched “GAZOO Racing” to participate in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Their goal was not to win, but to take advantage of this one of the most demanding competitions in the world to train people and transfer racing experience to the mass production. Akio recalls this experience: “Driving 24 hours on the Nürburgring, the toughest circuit in the world, brought us much more than three years on test tracks. Naruse always said that roads shape cars. Racing is exhausting, but it helps forge better machines. It was on the Nordschleife that I understood how to build a car.”

This love of competition was of course not to everyone’s taste, internally or externally. To be less visible and less likely to be criticized, Akio took the nickname “Morizo”. He began using it publicly starting at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2007, when he was vice-president. Today, this name is no longer a secret and has even become a sports label for Toyota and its Premium branch Lexus, while GAZOO Racing has become Toyota’s official team and has helped the manufacturer with some of the most prestigious races in the world, including five consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours from 2018 to 2022.

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