Toyota has issued the first glimpse of its forthcoming Yaris hot hatchback – a homologation special that will be the successor to the current GRMN.
Shown in a teaser – which states there will be a reveal of some type at Rally Australia on 17th November – the car appears to be named Yaris GR-4. The single image reveals little about the design, although it does show noticeably wider rear wheelarches that have sharper ‘shoulders’ than those on the regular Yaris.
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As Auto Express revealed last month, Toyota is planning more than one performance version of its latest Yaris as it tries to bridge the gap between mainstream hybrid versions and the World Rally Championship-winning competition car. But as Gazoo Racing’s President Shigeki Tomoyam told us at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show, “For the next generation of rally Yaris we will prepare a homologation road car. We have to commit to producing 25,000 of them in one year, so it won’t be a limited edition like GRMN.”
Auto Express understands that this is the vehicle previewed in the teaser image – a car with widened track, different suspension pick-up points, lighter components in key areas and a different aero package designed to help the rally car make better use of the huge rear wing allowed by WRC rules.
The new Yaris has torsion beam rear suspension in Europe, but a four-wheel-drive edition of the car is available in Japan – and it features more sophisticated multi-link configuration. It’s conceivable that the GR-4 could make use of this layout to improve handling and bring benefits to the rally car’s chassis – although whether the homologation special will itself be four-wheel drive or not is still unclear.
Toyota GB sources declined to comment on what the GR-4 might be – or whether it will make it to the UK. But British customers are known for their love of extreme hot hatchbacks, making this a likely key market for a car that could have a price tag nudging £30,000.
Current World Rally Car rules don’t specifically require manufacturers to produce ‘homologation specials’ in the spirit of the old Mitsubishi Lancer Evo or Subaru Impreza STI models. But some brands have made use of market-specific editions to improve their cars’ competitiveness.
Peugeot produced a 206 with longer bumpers to make the 206 WRC fit into the minimum length of the rules, while Ford used an American-market version of the Mk1 Focus because its larger bumpers allowed improved aero and wider track.
Click here to read our review of the hot Toyota Yaris GRMN…