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GR Yaris, official

27K views 167 replies 33 participants last post by  MR2 
#1 ·
Anyone else think this looks and sounds brilliant?



Full spec over at Pistonheads, basics are 260bhp, 4WD and optional Torsens for front and rear. Custom platform and bodywork (including a lowered roofline!) compared to the standard Yaris. It's a bit lardy though, heavier than a GT86 :grin:
 
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#2 ·
for front and rear? as in it's 4wd? If so, not sure it fits well with class/niche, of light & cheap subcompact hatchback. Adding all wheel drive will increase traction and so, true, but gained extra weight imho will reduce main appeal of lightness from which other virtues like good handling & acceleration despite low power stem from.
I can understand all wheel drive in bigger and more powerful cars, but this seems wrong one to pair with. Polo, Lupo, Yaris, Fiesta, Ka, C2, Civics, past Yaris-es and such .. they all benefit from relatively low weight in current obese cars era.
 
#4 ·
It's not really a "4WD Yaris" though, it's a purpose-built performance car, intended as a homologation car for rallying, so it makes sense to build it around a 4WD system. They've used a lot of weight-reducing materials, including a very lightweight engine, aluminium body panels and a CFRP roof. Weight is shown as 1280kg on Pistonheads, so around 30kg heavier than a GT86 - but also 30% more power. I think it can cope with being a little heavier than a standard Yaris.
[MENTION=3831]Kaviar[/MENTION], I'm guessing price will be north of £30k as it's an incredibly bespoke car.
 
#5 ·
30% more power will play less role, then probably much higher relative torque gains from forced induction for both by numbers and by 'push in seats' subjectively felt acceleration. Still, 4wd in my mind pairs better with subies & evos then small hatches, for whose 1000kg (or maybe even less) and FWD only seems better combination. New type-r civics show, that it's still possible to make very quick on tarmac tracks/lot of fun/even with high power&torque turboed engine car even with FWD only. As for rally offroading gravel roads .. again there are other cars imho better fit in stock form. Homologation whatever, i'm sure that real rally or rallycross yaris-es will have very little to do with these, probably sequential gearboxes, plate diffs, completely different suspension, stripped and seam welded body and so on .. but these sold for generic public ones, not exactly rally material, rather just deceiptful marketing that it's "like those in WRC".
 
#6 ·
:rolleyes: It's meant to be fun. Be thankful manufacturers still remember what that means. By your logic Toyota could've just mass-produced a supercharged Yaris with GT86 power levels, as they did once before. Instead, they've built a bespoke car with a new chassis, new bodyshell, and a load more power, and created the modern equivalent of a WRX or Evo. If you like cars, that should make you happy.
 
#10 ·
I like all of it except the mouth at the front. Wish they had incorporated some curves into it. I am sure it is practical though. I imagine the aftermarket will throw a bit more design into a re-imagined front bumper. I love the look of the Corolla at the front. The front of this GR Yaris leaves me cold, especially with all the curves on the rest of the body!
 
#20 ·
Yep indeed it is. I like that it has radar cruise and heated seats too. Hope it has the phone charger/apple car play too. Day to day I do like my comfort. Seats look good too.
 
#15 ·
I'm really interested in this. It's a homologation special! How long has is been eh, since we've had the opportunity to buy one? You have to go back to the halycon days of the 80's and 90's for that. I also love that you can vary the torque split front to rear. The 30/70% option has obvious appeal. :)

I'm going to put a £1K deposit down, get invited to the track day, drive it and make a decision based on that.

Register your interest here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/world-of-toyota/toyota-gazoo-racing/gr-yaris/
 
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#23 ·
#18 ·
They have to make 25000 for the regs. It's a pretty cool bespoke car in true homologation fashion. Really liking it. Just hope it's nearer £35K than £40K.
 
#19 ·
What is this car is competing with? Seems pretty unique in this size and power bracket, and with adaptable 4WD modes?

Reckon it may be a very niche car like the 86. Lots of people will love it on paper, but how many will take the plunge. If we get two trim levels, you’ll want the one with LSDs. I’m going to guess we’re getting near Golf R money, and they’re regularly on finance offers.

Most of the vids show quite a lot of understeer, but are on wet tracks. Be nice to see a proper review of the different modes in the dry. I reckon it will be a great B-road car.
 
#31 · (Edited)
It doesn't really have a rival at this moment, we've built the world's lightest and powerful 3 cyliner 1.6 turbo. The Yaris is usually built in our manufacturing plant in France, but the GR Yaris only has our Toyota GAZOO Racing engineers along with Tommi Mäkinen engineers working on this in our Motomachi plant in Japan. If you know this place, you know only good things come from it. It's a homologation special car designed for WRC R5, so there is a huge input from the WRC team and drivers.

It has a higher power to weight ratio than the Golf R :D

I took several guests to Estoril to drive the pre-production prototype, search for Adam Ivell and Monky London on YouTube and you'll see just how playful it is - even when Storm Elsa attempted to spoil the track.
 
#22 ·
I love the idea of 80s homologation specials (if only I'd bought an E30 M3 back then...), but I'd like the current possibilities better if WRC were restricted to 2-wheel drive, which would likely result in a rash of affordable, enjoyable production rwd cars.

I'm afraid 4wd is just over the top for the road - I want to keep my licence. Moreover, road-going 4wds tend to be understeery; whether the Yaris is safely oversteerable on a roundabout, we will discover in the fullness of time.
 
#24 ·
I'm afraid 4wd is just over the top for the road - I want to keep my licence. Moreover, road-going 4wds tend to be understeery; whether the Yaris is safely oversteerable on a roundabout, we will discover in the fullness of time.
It will be too competent no doubt. And it cannot drift the way RWD can, and understeer is clear on initiation of drift but they seem to manage

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHoN-3TArLQ[/ame]
 
#26 ·
From watching posted video i noticed another thing i dislike in it's design (though not that rare in many modern vehicles) - very narrow window line height/area. Looks to me like something greatly limiting side and rear visibility. Missing time of past, when function of good all around visibility wasn't yet dominated with form of specific design cues, with all those high windows, non rised C pillar lines, big rear windows and such :/
 
#27 ·
Easily the best video I've seen; he assesses both the standard and performance models, but emphasises that they are still prototypes that might be improved on. Very quick and capable, but not much in the way of oversteer in the dry, though:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VVtlTPjmGM"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VVtlTPjmGM[/ame]
 
#35 ·
Easily the best video I've seen; he assesses both the standard and performance models, but emphasises that they are still prototypes that might be improved on. Very quick and capable, but not much in the way of oversteer in the dry, though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VVtlTPjmGM
The Front to Rear ratio can be set to 30/70. If the test included that it would mean something otherwise not. I don't recall any mention of that from the report. It says they 'couldn't switch off ESP' .
 
#30 ·
Thanks for sharing Tony. I wonder about the turbo lag - maybe they have worked on this for the production models. I made the mistake? of having a big turbo on my Impreza back in the day, and occasionally got caught on a roundabout with no boost. Not a nice feeling. Modern turbos seem to have cured this, but I was interested in the driver's comments about keeping in the sweet spot.
 
#33 ·
I wonder about the turbo lag - maybe they have worked on this for the production models. I made the mistake? of having a big turbo on my Impreza back in the day, and occasionally got caught on a roundabout with no boost. Not a nice feeling. Modern turbos seem to have cured this, but I was interested in the driver's comments about keeping in the sweet spot.
Any chance this engine might find its way into the next GT86, I wonder, with a somewhat smaller turbo for everyday use?
 
#44 ·
Seems that Japan, at least, is getting a 1st Edition version with some extra kit...

https://toyotagazooracing.com/jp/gr/yaris/1stedition/
[MENTION=2577]Kesler[/MENTION] any word if we'll get that in the UK? I also saw on Pistonheads that some people are already paying a deposit at their local dealers - is there any advantage in being proactive rather than wait for the official Toyota e-mail updates?
 
#46 ·
Seems that Japan, at least, is getting a 1st Edition version with some extra kit...

https://toyotagazooracing.com/jp/gr/yaris/1stedition/

[MENTION=2577]Kesler[/MENTION] any word if we'll get that in the UK? I also saw on Pistonheads that some people are already paying a deposit at their local dealers - is there any advantage in being proactive rather than wait for the official Toyota e-mail updates?
It's the same here Spiky, 1st Edition is launch trim, High Performance is our Circuit Pack (forged BBS, Michelin PS4S, twin Torsen diffs, tweaked suspension).

It is weird to hear that people are paying a deposit. Officially for the UK, order books aren't open yet and we've only advised people to sign up to be on the GR Yaris list here: https://forms.toyota.co.uk/sign-up-Yaris-GR

So there's no advantage really, it's not a limited run like the Yaris GRMN.
 
#45 ·
I would be interested in a first edition as well. Got to be something I feel for getting an early order in. ;)
[MENTION=2726]spikyone[/MENTION]. I've been onto RRG, doesn't look like anything is going to happen for a couple of months. They're not taking deposits yet. I've signed up for the notifications, though my dealer is already on high alert, so I reckon I'll hear from them before Toyota. I don't think there is any more you can do at this point, but see what Andy says.
 
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