GR YARIS PRICING UNVEILED

Toyota has announced details of the car which will take it back to the World Rally Championship

Toyota has announced pricing for its rally-bred GR Yaris hot hatch.

Built as a homologation model for Toyota’s planned return to the World Rally Championship, the GR Yaris is a 257bhp, four-wheel-drive beast that shares little more than a name with the standard supermini.

Due to go on sale later this year with first deliveries by November, the three-door hatch will cost from £29,995.

That will get you the standard car, with a “Circuit” pack adding another £3,500. Full specifications have yet to be announced, but the circuit pack is expected to add a Torsen limited-slip differential on both axles, performancetuned suspension and 18-inch forged alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tyres.

Developed by Toyota Gazoo Racing and Tommi Mäkinen Racing, the new GR Yaris is Toyota’s first genuine allwheel drive sports car and its first homologation model for the WRC since the end of production of the Celica Gt-four in 1999.

It uses a new, dedicated platform that combines the front end of the GA-B platform – used in the 2020 Yaris – with the rear of the GA-C platform used in the Corolla. This allows for a new suspension design and accommodation of the Gr-four all-wheel drive system, while also aiding with stability and handling.

The body is a three-door shape with a significantly lowered roofline and features panels made of carbon fibre and aluminium help keep weight down. While it looks faintly Yaris shaped, not a panel is shared with the standard car.

Under the bonnet, a new 1.6-litre, three-cylinder engine has been turbocharged and tuned to produce a massive 257bhp and 266lb/ft of torque. Matched to the all-wheel-drive system and a six-speed manual gearbox it will get the GR Yaris to 62mph in 5.5 seconds and on to 143mph. The GR Yaris features selectable drive modes which adjust the power split between the front and rear axles for everything from road to dirt stage driving.