Even the most traditional of automotive enthusiasts appreciate the Toyota GR Yaris. That's because it's really just a homologation special and Doug DeMuro absolutely loves it.
Despite the fact that the GR Yaris isn't legal here in the United States, many car lovers already know a little bit about it. Most notably, it's a hot hatchback with solid power and all-wheel drive. Doug DeMuro unveils quite a bit more, though.
Most don't realize that the GR Yaris is a true homologation special in the purest form of the term. The only reason it exists at all is so that Toyota could go rally racing in the World Rally Championship.
DeMuro tells us about how much effort Toyota put into the GR Yaris hatchback saying, "the Toyota rally racing team determined that a two-door (commonly called a three-door) model would be necessary...and Toyota only makes a four door (commonly called a five-door) model...so what Toyota did was they created the GR Yaris... using the exact body shell from the four-door to satisfy rally racing homologation rules."
Then there's the motor which is a turbocharged 3-cylinder. It's a record-holder because it makes 260 horsepower. As Doug points out, that's more than a brand new Volkswagen Golf GTI, which is considerably bigger than the GR Yaris.
Doug also shows us the record-holding 3-cylinder engine. With 260 horsepower on tap, it's more powerful than a Volkswagen GTI despite being smaller. In fact, it's almost as powerful as the all-new Subaru WRX while also being much lighter.
The tie to racing is highlighted even more inside the cabin of the Yaris, where a special badge signifies its creation with the WRC in mind. This particular GR Yaris isn't technically legal here in the USA. It came from Mexico, where it was bought brand new. That's signified by another badge noting that it was built during the initial production run of 300 cars.
There are lots more details to see in the video below, but we'll let you in on Doug's thoughts of the car after driving it. He loves the clutch and shifter. The ride is above average and better than he expected.
The handling is on another level, though. He goes so far as to say that the GR Yaris might have some Lancia Delta Integrale DNA in its genes. That's some incredibly high praise.
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