Photo: CarPix
The Toyota Yaris GRMN was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show two months ago. But the hot hatch from Japan is not yet ready for production and was spied undergoing testing in Souther Europe with an obvious twist: the body sports a total of five doors, two more than expected.
The Yaris GRMN is an old-fashioned hammer of a hot hatch in a world of video game cars. Only the outermost layer appears new, so we'd compare it the Nokia 3310.
You can't play snake in the Yaris, but it's got a brick-like engine. Try and name another car with a 1.8-liter supercharged engine. Mercedes SLK? Now try calling one from this decade.
210 horsepower will be sent to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. The track-oriented package dreamt up by the Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring division will include a trunk-mounted spoiler, 17-inch BBS wheels, lowered suspension and bigger brakes.
We'd understand if Toyota decided to sell the Yaris GRMN as a 5-door. Last year, Ford decided to offer the Fiesta ST as a 5-door in Europe too.
But check this out! The car we saw in Geneva had a cool central-mounted exhaust pipe, while this has a regular muffler coming out the right side of the car. The reality is that you don't need a 150mm downpipe for a hot hatch of this size, so the Geneva 3-door car could just be a prototype, while this is the real deal.
We'd actually appreciate it if Toyota cold delivers an enjoyable little pocket rocket on a tighter budget. Even the humble Suzuki Swift Sport has become more expensive with each generation, leaving precious few alternatives for the keen driver on a budget.
Other than that, this is a pretty unassuming set of spy photos, bordering on depressing. But nobody remembers the last Toyota hot hatch, so it's better to start out with baby steps and get word-of-mouth publicity.
You can't play snake in the Yaris, but it's got a brick-like engine. Try and name another car with a 1.8-liter supercharged engine. Mercedes SLK? Now try calling one from this decade.
210 horsepower will be sent to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. The track-oriented package dreamt up by the Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring division will include a trunk-mounted spoiler, 17-inch BBS wheels, lowered suspension and bigger brakes.
We'd understand if Toyota decided to sell the Yaris GRMN as a 5-door. Last year, Ford decided to offer the Fiesta ST as a 5-door in Europe too.
But check this out! The car we saw in Geneva had a cool central-mounted exhaust pipe, while this has a regular muffler coming out the right side of the car. The reality is that you don't need a 150mm downpipe for a hot hatch of this size, so the Geneva 3-door car could just be a prototype, while this is the real deal.
We'd actually appreciate it if Toyota cold delivers an enjoyable little pocket rocket on a tighter budget. Even the humble Suzuki Swift Sport has become more expensive with each generation, leaving precious few alternatives for the keen driver on a budget.
Other than that, this is a pretty unassuming set of spy photos, bordering on depressing. But nobody remembers the last Toyota hot hatch, so it's better to start out with baby steps and get word-of-mouth publicity.
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