TOYOTA’S HOT HATCH IN DETAIL

WHY NOW?

Three reasons, according to chief engineer Naohiko Saito. To boost Toyota’s image, to inspire its engineers, and to forge a closer link between Toyota’s road cars and its motorsport programme, which spans endurance racing, NASCAR, WRC, desert racing and more. The whole GR programme is championed by Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who believes the entire company benefits from the way motorsport encourages quick thinking and a problem-solving mentality.

HOW CLOSE IS IT TO THE RALLY CAR?

Not very. The GR is going into production partly to homologate the 2021 WRC car, but that’s largely a matter of dimensions and shape, rather than the technology under the skin. (The 2020 rally car is an update of the 2019 car, driven to victory by

Ott Tänak, who will drive for Hyundai in 2020.) That said, it’s much closer to the rally equivalent than the Fiesta, Hyundai i20 and (now departed from WRC) Citroën C3.

WHAT’S IT UP AGAINST?

Toyota says the power-to-weight ratio, when it’s revealed, will put the GR Yaris into competition with cars from the class above, such as the Honda Civic Type R and VW Golf GTI, as well as hot superminis such as the Ford Fiesta ST. If it’s priced at £30k, it needs to.

WHAT’S NEXT FROM GR?

Probably a GT86, although that’s not likely to be such a thorough ground-up reinvention as the Yaris. Don’t expect the Corolla to get this treatment; it would be going head to head with a crowded field, and would lack the power-to-weight advantage that gives the GR Yaris its character.