Photo: Toyota
The 2023 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon has officially opened its gates today, and there are multiple premieres on display from automakers and tuners alike. Toyota, for one, is present with a plethora of new cars, including the GR Yaris Rally2 Concept.
Based on the regular Toyota GR Yaris, which is an homologation special, it highlights the brand’s motorsport ambitions, as they want to "become more involved […] in rallying.”
Said to meet the Rally2 regulations, the show car previews an actual racer that shouldn’t venture too far from it in terms of design and oily bits. It has the same length as the production model, measuring 3,995 mm (157.3 in) from bumper to bumper, but at 1,820 mm (71.7 in) wide, it is 15 mm (0.6 in) wider. The height is adjustable, and it tips the scales at 1,230 kg (2,712 lbs), including the spare wheel, thus meeting the FIA regulations.
It packs the same 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine, which is mated to a five-speed gearbox, and all-wheel drive with mechanical differential. The stopping power is supplied by the 300 mm (11.8 in) rotors for gravel and 355 mm (14 in) for tarmac, and it has MacPherson struts. It looks like a GR Yaris on steroids, with fender flares, a vented hood, large intakes in the front bumper, a big wing at the rear, mud flaps, and rally-style wheels. The black body is adorned by all sorts of decals, and it has a mandatory roll cage, and bucket seats with racing harnesses on the inside.
Before rounding it off and calling it a story, we have got to remind you about some of the things that make the regular GR Yaris such a great machine. For one, it was built on an exclusive platform that combines the GA-B used on the normal Yaris with the bigger Corolla’s GA-C, and this has allowed the implementation of an all-wheel drive system.
For power, you are looking at the turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine, which develops 257 hp (261 ps/192 kW) and 266 lb-ft (360 Nm) of torque in Europe, and 268 hp (272 ps/200 kW) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm) in Japan. The mill is hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission, which delivers the power to both axles, improving its cornering abilities, and allowing it to perform some fast takeoffs.
In terms of size, the GR Yaris is comparable to other supermini hot hatches, like the Volkswagen Polo GTI, Hyundai i20 N, and Ford Fiesta ST, all of which are front-wheel drive. However, since it is an homologation special, with all-wheel drive, and other tweaked parts, it will always come out on top of them, as long as it has a skilled driver at the helm.
Said to meet the Rally2 regulations, the show car previews an actual racer that shouldn’t venture too far from it in terms of design and oily bits. It has the same length as the production model, measuring 3,995 mm (157.3 in) from bumper to bumper, but at 1,820 mm (71.7 in) wide, it is 15 mm (0.6 in) wider. The height is adjustable, and it tips the scales at 1,230 kg (2,712 lbs), including the spare wheel, thus meeting the FIA regulations.
It packs the same 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine, which is mated to a five-speed gearbox, and all-wheel drive with mechanical differential. The stopping power is supplied by the 300 mm (11.8 in) rotors for gravel and 355 mm (14 in) for tarmac, and it has MacPherson struts. It looks like a GR Yaris on steroids, with fender flares, a vented hood, large intakes in the front bumper, a big wing at the rear, mud flaps, and rally-style wheels. The black body is adorned by all sorts of decals, and it has a mandatory roll cage, and bucket seats with racing harnesses on the inside.
Before rounding it off and calling it a story, we have got to remind you about some of the things that make the regular GR Yaris such a great machine. For one, it was built on an exclusive platform that combines the GA-B used on the normal Yaris with the bigger Corolla’s GA-C, and this has allowed the implementation of an all-wheel drive system.
For power, you are looking at the turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine, which develops 257 hp (261 ps/192 kW) and 266 lb-ft (360 Nm) of torque in Europe, and 268 hp (272 ps/200 kW) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm) in Japan. The mill is hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission, which delivers the power to both axles, improving its cornering abilities, and allowing it to perform some fast takeoffs.
In terms of size, the GR Yaris is comparable to other supermini hot hatches, like the Volkswagen Polo GTI, Hyundai i20 N, and Ford Fiesta ST, all of which are front-wheel drive. However, since it is an homologation special, with all-wheel drive, and other tweaked parts, it will always come out on top of them, as long as it has a skilled driver at the helm.
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