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The Toyota racing department Gazoo Racing stands to take the performance car world by storm. Toyota’s current CEO just happens to be their master driver “Morizo” and was instrumental in the development of the legendary Lexus LFA. As a result, he understands the importance of performance-oriented models.
For those who are outside of Europe, the name GR Yaris usually means nothing. However, for the gearheads there it means everything. With a 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder motor producing 257 horsepower and propelling the car to 60mph in 5.3 seconds. Available for £35,000 or roughly $40,000 these all-wheel drive hot hatchbacks make an excellent bargain. GR built this model to satisfy the WRC’s homologation requirements. Other than the car’s increased power figures in comparison to the regular Yaris.
GR redesigned much of the car, including a revival of the 3-door body style. With a lot more design flare alongside the 86 and Supra the GR Yaris has become a halo car for the brand. For true enthusiasts, the GR Yaris holds even more importance in the Japanese marques’ lineup. The 86 saw development with Subaru and the new Supra with BMW. The GR Yaris was the first project that the rebranded GR department has so far done on its own. The last performance model to get this type of treatment from Toyota was under their sister brand Lexus with the LFA.
Check out these upcoming Japanese performance legends.
What Is The Toyota GR Yaris?
According to Toyota, to meet homologation requirements they needed to build 25,000 cars over one year to compete in the 2020 season. However, fate had other intentions. The pandemic prevented the season from going ahead. The GR Yaris rally car has now debuted for the 2022 season. According to eWRC, an outlet that tracks rally results, the car has taken 15 podiums and 5 victories. A sign of the car’s brilliance. At this year’s African rally Toyota even took positions 1-2-3-4, the first time they’ve done so since 1995.
The GR Yaris hasn’t just seen success on the rally stage but also on roads. Built for tight, twisting tracking roads, but also small enough to use in town and the city. Yet also with a manual transmission. In the UK the GR Yaris appears to have taken over from the 7th generation Golf R. A budget-oriented fast hatchback from a brand with a little less prestige than BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz. The GR Yaris acts as both a daily driver for car collectors, but also a brilliant one-car garage.
Toyota’s engineering brilliance achieved this status. The intelligent manual transmission encourages “rhythmical” gear changes, extracting the most from the small engine. Furthermore, the all-wheel drive system can direct power to the rear but will still keep you on the road in wet conditions. In other words, balancing safety and driving dynamics.
How Is The Toyota GR Corolla Different?
Well for a start the GR Yaris, isn’t available in the United States. For Toyota, this makes plenty of sense, after all, hot-hatchbacks aren’t exactly the United States’ preferred model. It took until the 7th generation Ford Fiesta for America to receive arguably one of the most popular hot hatchbacks. The GR Corolla will use the Corolla hatchback as a base, not the saloon. However, Toyota has tested the water for a performance version of this car with the sportier Apex editions.
The GR Corolla will use the same 1.6 liters 3-cylinder motor as the GR Yaris. However, Toyota has increased horsepower to 300 to meet the car’s increased weight. Available only as a five-door, the GR Corolla is a larger car for the American market which usually supports larger vehicles than those in Europe. The hotted-up Corolla is not a homologation special, however, it uses much of the same technology to build a rally-inspired vehicle. Beneath the body sits the same all-wheel drive system which can split power from 50/50 to 30/70. Arriving to customers with Michelin Pilot Super Sport 4 tires, the GR Corolla will stick to the road no matter what.
Why Should You Buy A GR Corolla?
For the customer that wants a car that’s driver-focused, but still affordable, the market has grown less competitive. With the move away from smaller vehicles into SUVs, manufacturers rarely can just lower an existing model, strip out some of the niceties and make a performance machine with relative ease. Like the Yaris before it, this is what the GR Corolla is.
Interestingly the GR Corolla comes with three exhausts, meaning one exhaust per cylinder, which indeed seems a little overkill, if also cool. With one at each side and then a central tailpipe as well it looks distinct from everything else on the road.
The car won’t be poorly equipped, the GR Corolla will all have a digital dashboard and a central infotainment display. To get the full GR experience a customer has to specify the circuit pack, which options in the heavily bolstered seats. The circuit model also comes with a different hood, with air vents and a bulge, as well as a forged carbon fiber roof. This makes it in total 22lb lighter. The GR Corolla will arrive towards the end of 2022 ready for the 2023 model year.
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