New direction for Toyota

THROUGH GAZOO RACING, GOOD OLD DAYS OF FUN-TO-DRIVE CARS COMING BACK New performance offerings will be available on multiple model ranges.

Toyota. It is no lie that the Japanese brand is more readily associated with reliability and durability than performance. Well, back in the day, Toyota had fun road cars, such as the Group N Conquest RSI, their championship-winning rally car and even the Corolla RSI sedan.

Sadly, they did not enjoy good sales like the GTIs of this world and were discontinued. But Toyota have launched a refocus on cars that are exciting to drive and established a platform for Toyota to participate in motorsport – to the benefit of all Toyota cars.

I had the opportunity to spend time driving the limited-edition Toyota Yaris GRMN – “Gazoo Racing tuned by the Meister of the Nürburgring”.

There are a couple of things wrong with this Yaris.

The worse thing is that Toyota built only 400 units globally and only three are in South Africa for marketing purposes.

Secondly, I do not know about the pricing. I had number 391/400 on test. I will not go into too much detail about how the car looks but it is inspired and influenced by the Yaris WRC.

It features lightweight 17-inch BBS alloy wheels, larger brakes, central oval tailpipe and a bespoke exterior that displays Toyota Gazoo Racing’s white, black and red competition colours.

Designed to reflect the Yaris GRMN’s special appeal, there is an engine start button and a leather-wrapped steering wheel,