A national newspaper advert aiming to showcase the “heart-pumping” excitement of Toyota’s GR Series of performance cars has been banned following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) by green campaigners.

Despite both The Guardian and i newspapers confirming that they had received no complaints about the advert for the Japanese carmaker’s sporty range – produced with input from its Gazoo Racing Team – the ASA banned the ad after receiving representation from three complainants, including the Worthing Green Party.

The advert, published in April and May, featured an image of three cars driving close together beneath a headline “THAT GR FEELING THE TOYOTA GR SERIES”.

Smaller text at the bottom of the ad stated, “Precise. Balanced. Playful. It’s this elusive combination that delivers the heart-pumping excitement of the Toyota GR Series. Pure performance cars, born from Toyota Gazoo Racing. And now on a road near you”.

Representation from Toyota stated that the advert’s imagery featured the cars driving in a track environment – not the public road – denoted by its wide expanse of tarmac and lack of road markings.