These Toyota Siennas Are Going Racing All Across America

A pair of customized Toyota Sienna concepts are hitting tracks across the U.S.

Toyota will take on this year’s One Lap of America event with two Toyota Sienna concepts that will take to tracks all over the Midwest and East Coast to change the public’s perception on what it’s like to own a minivan. Since One Lap of America is the ultimate road trip, Toyota believes the Sienna is the ultimate road trip vehicle, offering plenty of comfort, utility and versatility.

The two Siennas will primarily be driven by Top Gear presenter Rutledge Wood and Grand-Am Rolex GT Champion Craig Stanton. Also taking part in the action will be Andrew Lund, Sienna chief engineer and Sean Morris, drag racing specialist.

Along with the two Toyota Sienna minivans, the automaker will also bring an Avalon and FR-S (Toyota 86) piloted by a team of production engineers from the company’s North American Headquarters.

Covering nearly 3,000 miles across a dozen states, One Lap of America also has competitors taking on road and autocross courses, drag racing and skid pads. In total, there will be 17 timed race competitions at eight unique venues.

One of the customized Toyota Siennas will be the R-Tuned Sienna, which was introduced at the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Then there’s the never-before-seen SE + concept that takes the sporty flair of the SE and adds revised treatments to the front and rear bumpers, headlights, tail lights, badges, bezels and door handles. Contrasting the white exterior are black satin outside mirrors, Laser Black 19-inch wheels, two-tone roof rails and a spoiler extension.

According to Toyota, the R-Tuned minivan will compete in the Truck/SUV class and will also earn points toward the overall standings while the SE + will compete in the Exhibition class.

The event kicks off on the skid pad at the Tire Rack headquarters in South Bend on April 30 and concludes on the skid pad on May 7.

“I’ve always loved this race, and this was the perfect opportunity for us to challenge perceptions…we’re already seeing a huge increase in the number of Millennials buying minivans,” explained Kibo Kitahama, national manager, vehicle marketing and communications. “Toyota started the whole ‘Swagger Wagon’ phenomenon with Sienna, and our recent Sienna REAL Performance program took that swagger to a whole new level. This is going to be one epic adventure, and I think we just may shock some people along the way.”

Read More Here: http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/04/the-toyota-sienna-is-going-racing-all-across-america.html