Toyota GR Yaris gets GR Parts bodykit, accessories

The folks at Gazoo Racing have been busy. Last week, we saw the new Toyota Yaris Cross get a full catalogue of GR Parts that can make it look like a rally car; now, here’s something more serious, and we bet that they enjoyed themselves more coming out with this series of GR Parts. It’s for their own Toyota GR Yaris.

Unveiled in January this year, the Toyota GR Yaris recently entered production in Japan, and that’s why the GR Parts are surfacing now – this rally-derived will soon hit the streets. The aerokit is the main item, consisting of a prominent front spoiler with matching side skirts. At the back, one can opt for a rear spoiler extension and a rear bumper spoiler, with two extra exhaust tips to make it four. Gazoo Racing says that the aerokit increases downforce.

The other exterior add-ons are purely cosmetic – the car above has GR stickers on the sides of the front and rear bumpers. These are in addition to the four GR emblems on the standard car, located on the front bumper, rear hatch and front wings. There’s also a body stripe just below the window line. It’s all very factory looking and we think it improves the looks of the standard GR Yaris.

Other minor accessories include door handle protectors and a license plate frame, both in carbon fibre-look. Speaking of CF, there’s also carbon-style trim for the interior – on the doors and on the large piece of dash trim facing the occupants. Wheel nuts and floor mats are also available.

The GR Yaris is a special car that doesn’t quite make financial sense (for the carmaker). While three-door hatchbacks are being phased out elsewhere, Toyota created this bespoke three-door Yaris body just so that they can have a better base for their 2021 Yaris WRC car.

Rules dictate that the WRC cars have to be based on production car bodies, and this three-door shape, with the rear of its roof (made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic, by the way) sloped to the max, will allow for better aero on the rally car.

Under the hood is a turbocharged G16E-GTS 1.6 litre three-cylinder engine pushing out 272 PS and 370 Nm of torque. Yup, all that from a three-pot. Power goes to all corners through a GR-Four AWD system and doing the shuffling are two Torsen mechanical self-locking differentials at each end. The pilot gets to choose from three settings – Normal (60:40 split), Sport (30:70) and Track (50:50). Six-speed manual, of course.

In Japan, there’s a base RS model with the wide-arched three-door body and double-wishbone rear suspension you see here, but with a 120 PS/145 Nm 1.5L three-cylinder NA engine. It’s FWD and has a CVT gearbox. The perfect canvas for big mods such as Daigo Saito’s 1,000 hp 2JZ-powered RWD drift machine.

Will we ever get to see the GR Yaris in Malaysia? UMW Toyota Motor posted a photo of the GR Yaris on its Facebook page in July, and while there was no mention when, or if indeed it is coming, UMWT almost never posts anything about a Toyota that isn’t going to be sold here. Was it an early teaser? Fingers crossed, but in any case, this modern day WRC hero won’t be anywhere near affordable. More on the GR Yaris here.

GALLERY: Toyota GR Yaris with GR Parts

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