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The Happy Meal has become more competitive: Toyota and McDonald’s launch miniatures with GR GT3, a secret model with strong appeal among collectors.
Toyota GAZOO Racing found a clever way to put Toyota cars at the center of the conversation: McDonald’s Japan will feature the GR GT3 and other models in the Happy Meal, turning a common visit to the chain into a showcase for a racing car that is still being prepared to make its mark on the tracks. This initiative takes place in the Japanese market, bringing together Toyota, Nissan, Tomica, and McDonald’s, targeting two audiences at once: the kids who open the box for the surprise factor and the adults who already see the miniature as a collectible item.
The centerpiece of the campaign is the GR GT3, globally unveiled by Toyota in December 2025 alongside the GR GT.
In the brand’s official communication, the GR GT3 is presented as a racing car built on the foundation of the GR GT, the new top sports model in the GR line, designed to compete under the FIA GT3 regulations.
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In other words, the Japanese Happy Meal has turned into the most popular preview of a project that, for Toyota, carries the weight of both a supercar and a competition vehicle.
Toyota, McDonald’s, and Happy Meal: how the collection was divided
The first batch runs from April 10 to April 23, 2026 and features four miniatures: the Toyota GR GT3 with an exclusive campaign design, a Hino fire truck, the Toyota TownAce in diner version, and a Nissan Skyline configured as a police vehicle.
The system follows a closed packaging format, so no one chooses which car they will receive at the time of purchase.
In the second phase, from April 24 to May 7, the Hino Profia Megalodon truck, the Nissan NV350 Caravan ambulance, the McDonald’s themed bus, and the Toyota Dyna tow truck will be introduced, along with the secret toy.
The latest update of the campaign also confirms a third phase starting on May 8, when the Happy Meal will distribute any of the eight models already shown plus the mysterious item, always randomly and while supplies last.
The Toyota cars at McDonald’s were not chosen by chance
The GR GT3 was not included in the collection just to decorate the showcase. Toyota is using McDonald’s reach to strengthen a car they want to turn into a new symbol of Gazoo Racing.
In the global launch announcement, the brand describes the model as a GT3 created for customers who want to win races and emphasizes the obsession with low center of gravity, structural rigidity, and aerodynamic efficiency.
It was in this same project that Akio Toyoda, known as Morizo, urged the team with the phrase: “I want you to go all out”.
This background helps explain why the miniature attracts so much attention. The GR GT3 piece sold with the Happy Meal is not just another generic toy: specialized media point out that it arrives as a co-branded die-cast model, with stickers and visual identity from Toyota Gazoo Racing and McDonald’s, which reinforces its appeal to both brand fans and Tomica collectors.
Happy Meal will have a secret model and this has already become a topic among collectors
The mystery of the collection lies precisely in the ninth toy. Toyota and McDonald’s have not revealed the details yet, but the silhouette released in the campaign and interpretations by specialized outlets suggest another variation of the GR GT3 itself, possibly with an exclusive color combination or special graphics related to McDonald’s. It’s the kind of detail that usually inflates the interest of those trying to complete the full series.
The campaign has also not been limited to the counter. Since April 3, Toyota has launched the special video DREAM MATCH, showcasing two units of the GR GT3 in a universe guided by childhood imagination.
And starting on April 10, the brand will open the GR GT3 Wrapping Design Contest on its official profile on X, inviting children and adults to freely create a paint design for the car.
After the registration phase, the works will be evaluated, and the winners will receive special prizes; complete details have been promised by the brand for the official opening of the contest.
Toyota, Toyota cars, and McDonald’s repeat a formula that has been working
This partnership did not come out of nowhere. Toyota itself recalls that it has previously used McDonald’s showcase in recent campaigns, with gold GR Corolla and GR86 in 2024 and the GR Supra Safety Car in 2025.
Moreover, it’s not just any miniature entering the combo: according to the official material of the action, Tomica has surpassed the mark of 10,000 types of vehicles launched and exceeded 1 billion units sold as of December 2024, which helps explain why such a toy resonates so well with nostalgia, collecting, and emotional memory.
On McDonald’s side, the official discourse follows the same line: the chain claims it wants to broaden children’s interest in different areas while they play. In practice, the collection does more than just deliver a treat at the register.
It places Toyota within the routine of families while simultaneously introducing the GR GT3 to a much larger audience, before the car solidifies its racing life in the GT3 scene.
Since the promotion, sales, and contest are tied to the Japanese operation of the chain and the Japanese channels of Gazoo Racing, the campaign remains concentrated in Japan.
In the end, the idea is good precisely because it mixes toy, branding, and motorsport without feeling forced. The Happy Meal gains an item that stands out from the obvious, McDonald’s reinforces its tradition of desirable giveaways, and Toyota turns Toyota cars into a topic outside the automotive circuit. Now it remains to be seen if the secret model will meet the expectations surrounding the GR GT3 and become the most sought-after piece of the collection.
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