It is a pity the U.S is missing out on perhaps the best small tunable car ever built. The Yaris GR is so good it picked up every conceivable award in its class in the U.K - scooping the top U.K. car of the year. The Yaris GR did not just make a buzz in the U.K., it took the Australian automotive scene by storm too. One tuner jerking its power to 473 hp to the wheels, hitting a quarter-mile in 11.7 seconds.
Andrew Hawkins from Motive Video is trying to get his GR Yaris to run a quarter mile in 10-seconds, making it the quickest GR Yaris in the world. His initial intention was to keep the stock GR Yaris simple, improving the lap times for the World Time Attack Challenge in Clubsprint Class.
Like any dedicated builder, things spiraled out of control, and soon the Yaris had a turbo kit from Goleby’s Parts, upgraded injectors, a MoTeC engine control unit, and had E85 running capability. With a few more mods, the GR Yaris was doing a quarter-mile in 11.7 seconds.
But the power insanity did not stop there. Hawkins wants to develop the world’s first 10-second GR Yaris. He amped the car's three-cylinder from 476-horsepower at the front hubs.
With the full power, there was a lot of concern about the weight reduction mods he had done. To fix that, he put back the roll cage before going to the drag strip.
On the first run, it survives full power but was a little bit too aggressive on the launch, leading to wheel spin. Hawkins went conservatively through first to third but slipped on the fourth gear. The GR Yaris did 11.9 seconds at 123 mph (199 kph).
The Yaris did a better run on the second drag, doing 11.43 seconds at 125 mph (202 kph). On the third run, the GR Yaris did 11.6 seconds at 122 mph (197 kph) after the clutch let off. According to Hawkins, 476 horsepowere were way too much for the clutch the Yaris was running. As a result, they had to stop the runs.
They have not given up on getting to 10 seconds. With a better clutch, weight reduction, and a new front LSD for traction, Hawkins is confident they can turn this build into the first 10-second GR Yaris in the world.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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