TOM'S was established in 1974 despite the economic turbulence of the oil crisis, with Tachi and Oiwa channelling Toyota-aligned ambition into a productive tuning and motorsport operation. By 1975, Toyota Motor Corporation formally recognized TOM'S as an authorized tuning shop. In 1978 the firm opened a garage in the Tama area of Tokyo, and in 1981 it entered Japanese Formula 3 as an engine tuner — beginning what would become one of the longest and most successful partnerships between a preparation outfit and a domestic championship in the world.
In 1987, TOM'S expanded internationally, establishing TOM'S GB LIMITED in Hingham, Norfolk, England. The Norfolk base initially housed engine shops and a Formula 3 team operation, and grew to support programs in the Sportscar World Championship and the British Touring Car Championship. In 1992 TOM'S conducted a Formula 1 feasibility study for Toyota, including an R&D centre overseen by designer John Barnard, and a car designated the 011F was drafted but never constructed. Toyota ultimately declined an F1 entry at that stage, and TOM'S sold the Norfolk facility to Volkswagen in 1998, retreating from the European market.
The Japanese Formula 3 Championship — later rebranded Super Formula Lights following FIA nomenclature regulations and a transition to Euroformula Open Championship standards — became the defining arena of TOM'S dominance in single-seater racing. The team won the championship a record 25 times, with title years spanning from 1987 through to 2024. Championship-winning seasons include 1987, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, and post-rebrand in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024. This extraordinary consistency across four decades places TOM'S among the most prolific Formula 3 teams globally.
The Macau Grand Prix, a prestigious invitational Formula 3 event, provided an international stage where TOM'S proved its calibre, winning five times — in 1992, 1998, 1999, 2007, and 2008 — giving it the second-most team victories in the race's history.
TOM'S Racing has been a fixture in Japan's top sports car championship since 1995, when the series was known as the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), competing with Toyota and Lexus silhouette cars. The team won the GT500 class championship eleven times: in 1997, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Among the drivers who contributed to TOM'S Super GT success was Michael Krumm, who shared the number 36 Castrol TOM'S Supra with Pedro de la Rosa to claim the GTC 500 championship in 1997.
In the Super Formula Championship — Japan's premier open-wheel series — TOM'S has won six drivers' titles: in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2023, and 2024. The team functions as one of Toyota's primary factory-supported entries in the series, fielding Kazuki Nakajima among its notable Super Formula drivers.
From 1985 until 1993, TOM'S competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team's best result came in 1992, when it finished second overall with a Toyota TS010 — a performance that illustrated the depth of the TOM'S-Toyota technical relationship during the Group C era. TOM'S also won the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1992, the same year as its Le Mans podium, underlining the strength of their endurance programme at its peak.
Beyond single-seater and sports car racing, TOM'S won the Japanese Touring Car Championship twice: in 1994 with a Toyota Corona E, and in 1997 with a Toyota Chaser. The team also produced vehicles for the Japanese Formula 3000 series in 1993.
On the road car side, TOM'S produces a wide range of aftermarket components and special editions for current Toyota and Lexus models, including the GR Supra, GR Yaris, GR86, and various Lexus variants. The company has created commemorative and lightweight sports car models under the TOM'S badge, including the Angel T01 (1994), and the T101, T082, and T020 series from 1995.
TOM'S represents one of motorsport's clearest examples of a tuning shop growing into a factory-backed motorsport institution. Operating continuously since 1974 with Toyota's backing, the organization has shaped the careers of numerous Japanese and international drivers, supplied championship-winning engines to Formula 3 fields, and competed at the highest levels of Japanese racing across every major domestic championship. Its record in Super Formula Lights — 25 titles — remains unmatched in the history of that championship.