TAS 2020: Toyota GR Yaris production car debuts – 1.6T, 272 PS, 370 Nm, a WRC special you can buy!

TAS 2020: Toyota GR Yaris production car debuts – 1.6T, 272 PS,  370 Nm, a WRC special you can buy!

Toyota has revealed the GR Yaris production car at the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon, with a surprise cameo by company boss and petrolhead Akio Toyoda, escorted out by a bevy of imported Thai pretties. This is a small car, but it’s a big deal. The big T really didn’t have to make the GR Yaris, but made it they did.

Here’s the deal. To us, the GR Yaris is the spiritual successor to the famous Celica GT-Four from the 80s/90s. You know, the Castrol liveried WRC car you played in Sega Rally – yes, that one. This is because the GR Yaris’ reason to exist is the World Rally Championship, like that famous Celica homologation special. Or the Evo and WRX STI of yesteryear.

To be sure, there’s a new Yaris in town (not our ASEAN version, but the latest TNGA European supermini that debut late last year), but as with most superminis these days, it’s five-door only because of market demand. Toyota created this bespoke three-door body just so that they can have a better base for their 2021 Yaris WRC car.

TAS 2020: Toyota GR Yaris production car debuts – 1.6T, 272 PS,  370 Nm, a WRC special you can buy!

Rules dictate that the WRC cars have to be based on production car bodies, and this three-door style, 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 eventual rally car. That’s next year.

For this 2020 WRC season, the Toyota works team is carrying over last year’s Yaris that helped Ott Tänak win the driver’s championship and just lost out the manufacturer’s championship to Hyundai. From this base car, expect a Yaris R5 rally car as well.

The platform and wheelbase of the GR Yaris is similar to the civilian Yaris, but apart from the two fewer doors and lower roofline, just look at those rear arches!

The bespoke body is just half of what’s special here. Under the hood and pushed back as far as possible is a turbocharged G16E-GTS 1.6 litre three-cylinder engine pushing out 272 PS and 370 Nm of torque. That’s no typo, and those figures are astounding for a three-pot motor. Power to weight ratio is 4.706 kg/PS.

TAS 2020: Toyota GR Yaris production car debuts – 1.6T, 272 PS,  370 Nm, a WRC special you can buy!

Hooked up to what’s said to be the lightest and most powerful production 1.6L engine around is a six-speed manual gearbox. Gazoo is also parading a unit of the GR Yaris at TAS tagged as “CVT Concept”, hinting at a future automatic variant.

Power goes to all four 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). Would it have been nicer to call the latter Dirt or Gravel and the rear-biased mode Track instead?

The front suspension is MacPherson struts and the standard Yaris’ rear torsion beam has been swapped for double wishbones. No active damping or variable ride height in the interest of weight. The multi-spoke wheels you see here are 18-inch BBS items wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, although Enkei rollers shod in Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 050 rubber come as standard.

Now, you probably won’t think of this kind of car as a weight watcher, but that was one of Gazoo’s targets for the hot Yaris – along with the three-pot engine and CFRP roof, the doors and hood are from aluminium. There’s no centre diff for the same reason. As such, this heavy-hitting all-wheel drive hot hatch isn’t actually all that heavy, weighing in at just 1,280 kg.

Unlike say, the Honda Civic Type R, the GR Yaris is a rather bespoke car with the main parts – body and powertrain – not found elsewhere in the civilian range. Which makes the prices sound rather reasonable – two variants are available, the RZ at 3.96 million yen (RM147,889) and the RZ “High Performance” at 4.56 million yen (RM170,294). Contrast this with the FK8, which retails at 4.5 million yen (RM167,864).

Can we expect it to come to Malaysia? We already have GR Garages, and they’re housing just one model… What do you think of this WRC homologation special hot hatch?

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • This is Bezza guys!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 17
    • romance on Jan 10, 2020 at 10:32 am

      (Like) Toyota Yaris
      (Dislike) Honda Jazz

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 3
    • Bagi laluan.double highbeam,Bezza zoom 240kmh

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
    • Nasi goreng on Jan 10, 2020 at 11:32 am

      Hope our regular troll name Darren does not come here and say that trustworthy Danny Tan and Wikipedia is not a trusted source for information. I would better trust in both of them instead of one Game Over frustated P1 fan busuk Bezza name

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 6
      • Celup King on Jan 10, 2020 at 2:27 pm

        Don’t talk about gameover Perodua. It has gameover too many times to count. Let’s talk about gameover Toyota. In the rest of the world, they get TNGA Yaris. In ASEAN and Malaysia, we get outdated junk Yaris based on 10 year old chassis. The Japs like to milk cows such as you and that is why they get away with this crap move to repackage an old car with new skin. But Toyota is a gameover brand now that it dropped to a far 4th spot. Even for recently launched Vios and Yaris they are offering RM 10k discounts but few takers. Sales number is everything and Toyota sales number show it has gameover and when Toyota gameovers Perodua will soon gameover too.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 12
  • Donno on Jan 10, 2020 at 10:22 am

    Dear Proton/Geely

    Proton needs to build a response to this GR yaris. The future Iriz replacement (please proton retain the Iriz, Saga and Persona name plates!) needs to have a high performance R3 Iriz hot hatch version, complete with 1.6 turbo engine and 4WD.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 3
  • SK Lim on Jan 10, 2020 at 10:35 am

    Walau! A Yaris for Rm170k! They don’t expect to sell many unlike Civic Type R. Just enough for homologation purpose I guess.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 15
  • Vios Baru on Jan 10, 2020 at 10:36 am

    Can our maestro theo chin render the new VIOS 2021 based on this new yaris hatchback!

    It’ll really be interesting to see how it looks like!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Lychee Pie on Jan 10, 2020 at 11:03 am

    Nice, TNGA allows new designs in many area…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
  • Can we make a vios out of this?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • Later Perodua fans come here and say making proper racer cars are just shiok sendiri, should follow like them just tack-on GearUp bodykit bits for a real racer car.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Absofrigginlutely fantabulous

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Add all the tax will be below RM400….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • vivizurianti on Jan 10, 2020 at 12:11 pm

    if this car ever reaches Malaysia….sure it will cost as much as your limbs, and your pair of kidney.

    Yaris is used in rally, however it was the Celica GT4 that proven itself because it really won multiple championships. Celica GT4 is the real deal.

    So, Yaris shouldn’t be boasting of its performance and tarik harga (yet). Please dont syoik sendiri yet.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 4
  • At first glance, it looks like a Peugeot 208 gti knock off…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
  • seancorr (Member) on Jan 10, 2020 at 1:39 pm

    Not gonna be cheap man. Look at the price in yen. This will set you back a Merc A250.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 3
    • vivizurianti on Jan 10, 2020 at 4:31 pm

      If that is the case, better use the money to buy the Merc. At least Merc got more class……

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • This is one hot hatch! I mean the power was enormous for a three three-cylinder engine. An epic 192kW output and 370Nm of torque for an all-wheel-drive GR Yaris and weights only 1300kg? This car would be quick! Well done Toyota. Hot hatch made right.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • Want!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Bunch of hater, you poor your business la. They don’t categories you as the target lmao

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • rear end sure reminds me of the old peugeot wrc 206

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • donno on Jan 14, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    RIP Malaysia Rally…

    2020 APRC goes on without a round in Malaysia

    https://fiaaprc.com/2020-aprc-calendar/

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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