One of the most popular hatchbacks produced thus far is the Toyota GR Yaris. It sports a custom two-door body, a loud 268-horsepower, turbo three-cylinder engine, a drift-happy all-wheel-drive system, and a motorsport-derived chassis. It was developed as a homologation requirement for the WRC rally car. But clearly, that wasn’t enough because on Friday, Toyota introduced the GRMN Yaris, a new limited-edition model, at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
Toyota claims that real race car drivers and motorsport engineers contributed to the development of the GRMN Yaris. Recaro bucket seats with built-in side airbags have been installed in place of the previous model’s rear seat. The hood, roof, and rear spoiler are all made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, which results in a 44-pound weight loss when compared to a standard GR Yaris. The GRMN Yaris also gets additional spot welds for increased body rigidity, a mechanical limited-slip differential, and a close-ratio transmission with a lower final gear and stronger components. For a lower center of gravity and to increase torque, Toyota claims the GRMN is 0.4 inches wider and 0.4 inches lower than a standard GR Yaris.
The Yaris that competes in the Super Taikyu series includes upgrades, and a Circuit package will be made available from the factory. It includes new front splitter, side skirts, and a sizable rear wing that are all made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. It also includes 18-inch BBS wheels, larger brakes, Bilstein shocks with adjustable dampers, and other improvements. Only 50 of the Circuit package cars will be produced, and each one will be painted in a unique Matte Steel finish.
The Rally package, which consists of items that the dealer installs, is more thrilling, though. The Rally pack comes with a roll cage, updated stabilizers, shocks, and skid plates. A Rally pack car with the Circuit pack’s wing, smaller wheels with off-road tires, and mud flaps is also depicted in one of Toyota’s photographs, though no information is provided concerning those components.
The GRMN Yaris will only be available in 500 units, and all sales will be distributed via an online lottery that begins today. New Upgrade and Personalization programs will be available to customers, the former of which will offer new components and software upgrades at GR dealerships and the latter of which will offer specialized tuning and optimization based on driver-specific data at racing tracks. Additionally, starting this fall, Toyota will offer some of the GRMN’s parts to people who currently own a standard GR Yaris.
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What number of GR Yaris will be made?
Before it is officially unveiled globally as early as next month, new information about the impending 2022 Toyota GRMN Yaris hot hatch has surfaced in Japan.
Contrary to prior rumors of a 2023 launch, the limited-edition GRMN version of Toyota’s hot GR Yaris hatchback will apparently be unveiled in less than three weeks at the Tokyo Auto Salon event, according to the most recent claim from reputable Japanese journal Mag-X. (January 14-16).
The GRMN Yaris will reportedly come in three types, with a basic model and a “Circuit Package” car designed for tarmac driving. Production will be limited to 500 vehicles and begin in July 2022.
A “Rally Package” model is also rumored to exist, focusing on “rough road” motorsport and possibly resembling the GR Yaris “RC” model currently offered in Japan. This model is said to have fewer luxury features, smaller brakes, and retuned suspension (designed for 15-inch rally wheels and tyres) for use in competition.
While earlier reports stated power will increase to 221kW from the current GR Yaris’ 200kW/370Nm, Mag-X asserts that this output would be reserved for the future GR Corolla, with the GRMN Yaris adopting a 200kW/390Nm engine tune.
The GR Yarisan upgrade is already available on the GR in Japan, through Toyota’s GR Parts options catalogue. Under the hood, the Japanese publication claims upgrades will include a revised transmission with closer gear ratios, a reinforced clutch, and mechanical limited-slip differentials replacing the torque-sensing (Torsen) units.
According to Mag-X, the GRMN Yaris will weigh 30 kg less than the typical GR Yaris, with the base grade weighing 1250 kg and the Circuit Package weighing 1260 kg.
The removal of the rear seats and the introduction of new carbon-fibre reinforced plastic components have helped to reduce the weight gain of the better-equipped Circuit Package.
With sports suspension, the GRMN is stated to be 10mm wider than the standard GR and 10mm closer to the pavement. According to reports, the body will receive 545 more spot welding places to increase the rigidity of the chassis.
500 GRMN customers will get the option of four exterior colors, according to Mag-X: Platinum White, Precious Black, and Emotional Red from the GR Yaris, as well as a new Grey M Matter shade that will only be available on 50 units.
According to Mag-X, the 2022 Toyota GRMN Yaris will reportedly be unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon, which kicks out on January 14. This is the same location where the conventional GR Yaris was unveiled two years ago, and orders are anticipated to begin in Japan in mid-February via a lottery system.
According to claims, production will begin in July 2022, and 500 units will be produced in “approximately half a year.” The 500 vehicles will not be disseminated across other markets, according to the source, which raises the possibility that the GRMN Yaris could be a Japanese-only model, as has been the case with a number of other GRMN versions.
GR Yaris: Are they all sold out?
However, Toyota Australia is still not taking new orders for either type of the GR Yaris nine months later.
However, after orders were closed in July 2021, only around 500 of them have been delivered, with roughly 120 delivered thus far in the first three months of 2022.
In comparison, the Toyota GR Yaris was supplied in Australia in 1149 instances in the first half of 2021 and approximately 550 instances in the final months of 2020.
Instead of a decline in demand, the sales figures are probably dropping because of supply constraints.
Toyota Japan was obliged to cease production in several facilities in the second half of 2021 (and early 2022) as a result of a scarcity of semiconductors and other essential components.
It is uncertain whether Toyota GR Yaris orders will pick up in Australia prior to the arrival of the second Gazoo Racing hot hatch from Toyota.
At the fourth quarter of this year, the Toyota GR Corolla is scheduled to arrive in Australian dealerships (October to December).
The hot Corolla’s supply is also anticipated to be severely constrained, with only 2000 units reserved for markets outside of the US, which are Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.
With over 2100 GRs sold compared to 6321 Yaris cars overall, the Toyota GR Yaris has sold for over a third of all Toyota Yaris sales since the hot hatchback launched around 18 months ago.
Since the GR Yaris hatchback model debuted in March 2021, the Rallye variant has sold about 29% of all units.
How many GR Yaris are headed to the UK?
In his five-star assessment of the new Toyota GR Yaris in today’s Sunday Times Magazine, JEREMY Clarkson boldly asserts that it is just as exciting as a Porsche 911.
Since it first appeared on the market in the latter part of last year, the trendy supermini has been the talk of the automotive press. Despite having the same name as the somewhat more subdued Yaris, the two vehicles are totally different animals. On the exterior, the only components that are similar are the door mirrors and the front and rear lights, while the 1.4-liter engine produces a hefty 261 horsepower. In actuality, the restricted GR Yaris takes ten times longer to build than the ordinary model due to its unique sporting components.
The end result is a car that feels significantly more costly than its sub-30,000 starting price, claims the commentator. “You might imagine that the Yaris GR, a modest three-cylinder Japanese hatchback, would be quite a letdown if you currently drive a Porsche 911 or anything like, but it actually isn’t, he added.
Toyota had to create 25,000 road-legal GR Yaris models to satisfy the World Rally Championship’s homologation standards. Sadly, the competition version of the GR Yaris won’t even reach the rally stage because Toyota abandoned it midway through last year for unclear reasons (perhaps connected to Covid), and new regulations that will take effect in 2022 will only let hybrid vehicles to compete.
However, Clarkson points out that the GR Yaris joins automotive aristocracy like the Lancia Delta Integrale, Ford Escort Cosworth, Peugeot 205 T16, and the rear-engined MG Metro as rally homologation cars.
The Grand Tour host claims that its turbocharged, three-cylinder, 1.4-litre engine (the most potent three-cylinder unit available, incidentally) doesn’t produce noise that’s particularly noteworthy, and Toyota pours engine noise into the cabin that reminds him of “driving next to a dozing dog.
The Toyota has plenty of oomph, despite not having as much power as the larger Honda Civic Type R, which has 59 bhp more, or as much luxury as the 350 bhp Mercedes-AMG A45, thanks to its featherweight 1,280 kg.
Clarkson discovered the vehicle to be capable over all types of terrain, including the fields of his farm and the icy roads of Oxfordshire in January. This was made possible by a custom four-wheel drive system.
The GR Yaris’ grip is impressive thanks to its front and rear limited-slip differentials (when paired with the more costly Circuit Pack) “He wrote, “Like you could win a rally.”
The columnist pointed up a few small flaws, such as the rally-derived seating posture that is excessively high on the road, the center touchscreen’s position creating a blind spot, and a lack of room in the back seats.
With contemporary advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) like lane keep assist and adequate soundproofing, even when fitted with potentially noisy Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, he also discovered that it was less spartan than he had anticipated.
According to Clarkson in his evaluation, Toyota took a chance by creating a whole new car specifically for rallying because it then needed to find 25,000 buyers for a road-going version. However, he believes that if you desire one, you should place your order right away after driving the vehicle. “Toyota is only producing 25,000 of them, and even that won’t be enough. Not even close.
How many GR Yaris are in New Zealand?
I’ve never driven a Yaris like this one. Additionally, it doesn’t sound like any other Yaris. And my goodness, it definitely goes faster than any Yaris to date. In really, if you disregard the obvious Yaris components, this nearly has a foreign vibe to it. Because the GR Yaris is essentially that (the R means racing).
Because it is the first vehicle that Toyota reverse-engineered to become a road vehicle. Due to the fact that it is based on the now-cancelled 2021 WRC Yaris, it immediately stands out as somewhat unique. For homologation purposes, just three thousand were built, but Toyota now claims it will produce up to 25,000 if there is a demand. There are three spec levels for this actual production car, and we choose the highest Rally configuration. The first 1000 were given a special price in Australia and were gone in an hour. Here, our initial 35-piece supply was gone almost as quickly.
Those in the know clearly understood the pedigree: this stroppy little rocket has been fine-tuned and fettled not only by the Gazoo Racing World Rally Team experts but also by Tommi Makinen Racing, and it is constructed in a specialty section of Toyota’s Motomachi production facility where quality control is strict. The three-cylinder engine, which Toyota claims to be the most powerful in the world, was custom manufactured.
We drove it over some of the gnarliest, tightest, and narrowest gravel roads in South Auckland, one of which had just been graded the day before, and we heard no strange rattles, squeaks, or other strange noises. This is really securely fastened together.
And it will need to be since the owners will occasionally drive it aggressively. We just found one mechanical feature that probably should be improved, and that is the rushed gearbox movement. This was seen when the car was put through performance tests and driven on a track. When shifting swiftly at Hampton, it graunched, and during 0-100 testing, it balked on upshifts. It’s unfortunate because it takes two shifts to reach 100. While we didn’t quite match the 0-100 claim of 5.2sec, we barely missed it by six hundredths of a second. It gets off the mark decently, the clutch is robust enough to absorb upper medium revs if you feed it in gradually.
It certainly is swift for a car the size of a Fiesta ST, cutting that car’s sprint time by 1.6 seconds, mostly due to AWD vs. FWD, but it is also 0.7 seconds faster on overtakes. So it should be with 200kW and 370Nm compared to the Ford’s 147/290 total.
The Cooper JCW is much more similar in concept, and it costs and weighs almost the same. However, it is a second slower than the GR on both counts due to its front-drive configuration. The AWD Clubman JCW is more quicker, but it costs $20k more, is bigger, heavier, and has six doors.
Toyota’s little proton powerpack rounds out another potential opponent, the WRX (four-door count apart), which is almost the same in terms of price and power but nearly 300 kg heavier. Regarding how it performs in comparison to larger, marginally more expensive front-drive sportsters like the Civic Type-R and Focus ST.
This automobile is a lethal weapon on the road thanks to its power to weight ratio and AWD, especially with an elderly menace at the helm. I’ll admit that when faced with 200 turbo-powered kW and 1300 kg of 4WD mayhem, I’m incorrigible, but GR made this to be a hard, quick charger.
There is not much weight and a lot of power, indicating that weight was just as essential to the designers and engineers as power. The cargo cover, for instance, is a piece of black fabric held up by just one piece of string, demonstrating that they have definitely paid attention to the crucial details without ignoring the minor ones. That’s symbolic, we assume; you might refer to it as the G-string or Gazoo-string.
Regarding the larger components, the bonnet, door panels, and hatch are constructed of aluminum, while the roof is composed of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. The wheels are thin, forged BBS models. Windows lack columns. When there should have been four cylinders, there are only three. There is only a battery in the back to help with weight distribution; there is no spare.
So, they haven’t actually gone crazy in their efforts to lose weight; they’ve just done smart things. And according to specs, it’s hardly worn out. Air con is dual zone, and there’s the entire gamut of Toyota Safety Sense gear, right down to adaptive cruise. Alloy pedals and sports seats are both a little unique. There is also a beautiful tactile wheel. Sporty elements aside, the interior is distinctively Yaris.
You do value the pushbutton start and comfort entry, and the fact that there are three doors makes entering the vehicle simpler as long as there is adequate space.
This is not a particularly attractive design from the outside. Think practical, with wide tires, a low posture, a powerful body package, and huge wheels. Although there are some strange angles, the profile is pretty interesting thanks to the coupe-like roof, inflated guards, good glass work, and a respectable back. Although the splitter and large air intakes give the impression of business, we’re not quite fans of the square maw up front.
The clutch is light, the turbo spools swiftly from low revs, and with the stop-start system in operation, this feels ready for every-day driving, with the possible exception of the traditional manual transmission, some may argue. However, the manual is excellent for town driving since it has fast, if hefty, shifts and accurate, predictable clutch take-up.
We finally reach the isolated country roads after roughly an hour of sloshing through speed-restricted areas to leave town, at which point it’s time to switch hats and step things up. The steering is quite good, quick, and not overdone in any way. Although it rides pretty stiffly, the damping has an underlying compliance that prevents it from being too jiggly. The situation simply seems to improve as the speed increases. You can simply keep adding more corner speed and it just keeps rounding up into the turns since there is basically no roll in corners and this rides on Pilot Sport 4S tires. How swiftly this can thread the needle down a ridgerunner road is nearly absurd.
Using Track mode, where the torque is split 50/50, and dual LSDs, it scrambles its way out of turns admirably, is what we thought worked best on the very tight situations. Normal has a torque split of 60/40, which makes the exit a little squeaky, and Sport has a torque split that is mostly rear biased, which makes the turn-in less fluid. It may like being pulled out as much as being pushed along because of the weight distribution of 60/40. The Sport option works perfectly in more open, quicker terrain. And in these circumstances, the whole driving is really fantastic. The absence of road roar surprised us, even if noise suppression might have led us to anticipate it. Over the toughest seal surfaces, expect SPLs in the 75-76dB range; it certainly isn’t shouty.
While the engine beavers away brilliantly between 3000 and 4500rpm where progress is certain and the flow through turns is addictive, your corner speeds will still raise the eyes or ire of many locals if you’re just easing along moderately and using medium revs. However, if you use revs higher than 5000, the engine’s roar changes into an animalistic screech. It’s then too, that you appreciate just how amazing a job they’ve done on the braking system.
This will take you from one postcode to the next in double-quick speed, holy Toledo. It moves through roads that often torture most regular automobiles with hero-like speed.
What would we like to see? Obviously adjustable lumbar support. Additionally, it would be wonderful if the seat could reach even deeper. Perhaps a larger rear window, though there’s rarely much to see there! Of course, a slightly more accommodating employer would help you avoid grunching shifts as much.
Rear seats aren’t very practical, so in reality, this is a two-seater with only enough room for a few small children in the back and limited baggage capacity (174L, as opposed to 286L in a conventional Yaris), but it’s adequate.
There aren’t many serious drawbacks, so this is a strong candidate for Performance Car of the Year.
You continue to believe that the $54,990 asking price, if you can find one, is virtually a bargain.