Rapid GR Yaris hot hatchback
● Rapid supermini on the way ● 4WD manual, up to 275bhp
THIS is the car that has the potential to be 2020’s most potent supermini, and one of the fastest hot hatchbacks around: the Toyota GR Yaris, previewed in camouflaged form ahead of a final release in mid-January.
We already know that the GR Yaris will be unlike any other hot supermini on the market. Developed by Toyota’s rally team, Gazoo Racing, it’ll be four-wheel drive and have a six-speed manual gearbox, and it’s expected to feature a bespoke 1.6-litre, three-cylinder engine producing more than 250bhp – perhaps as much as 275bhp. That’ll put it as much as 50bhp clear of the previous hottest supermini to be offered, the Audi S1.
The GR Yaris has two purposes. The first is to give Toyota a more tangible link between its motorsport efforts and its roadgoing range – especially a model like the Yaris, which is focused on practicality and efficiency. The second is to give the company a competitive advantage in the World Rally Championship, where it is locked in competition with Korean rival Hyundai.
As such, the new Yaris is being referred to as a ‘homologation special’ – the first produced for a generation. In the nineties, rally rules forced manufacturers to build thousands of special road cars that were closely linked to the competition vehicles, but the modern-day regulations, introduced in 1997, removed this requirement.
The GR Yaris is a car that doesn’t actually need to be made, therefore – but Toyota is said to have been persuaded to invest in its development by intense lobbying from its Finnish-based rally team.
Even from this disguised vehicle, it’s clear that the GR Yaris has a wider track front and rear. And it’s also a three-door, a body style that offers the greatest chassis rigidity and the best scope for aerodynamic aids. We already know that the GR has a 95mm lower roofline than a conventional Yaris, to clean up the air that reaches the rally car’s huge rear wing and improve aerodynamic performance. The bodyshell itself is said to be made of a mixture of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP), forged carbon fibre and aluminium.
The engine sits further back in the bay than in the regular car too, improving weight distribution, and double-wishbone rear suspension has been fitted instead of the normal car’s torsion beam set-up. Fourwheel drive is standard, and the GR will have clutch-pack-based differentials at the front and rear, although Auto Express understands that mechanical limited-slip diffs will be available as an option.
In effect, the GR Yaris is 80 per cent of a rally car for the road – and as such, wellplaced sources say it has been tested against nineties homologation specials such as the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo during development.
There’s no word yet on how much the GR Yaris will cost, but insiders suggest that Toyota’s pricing will be guided by the need to actually sell the car – and that as a hot hatch-loving territory, the UK will be at the forefront of the launch. Expect a figure in the region of £35,000-£40,000 when the car reaches showrooms before the end of 2020.