When Toyota announced its return to the World Rally Championship in 2015, the concept of building a rally-inspired sports car was part of the plan. The vision was to take technical knowledge and experience from the highest level of international competition and apply them to a new road car that is also suitable for competition driving, and an affordable proposition for customers.
For Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the creation of a sports car made purely by Toyota - the first in 20 years - was a personal ambition. Following on from winning the WRC manufacturers’ championship in 2018, he saw a winning car as being key to achieving global recognition as a true auto manufacturer.
The GR Yaris is that car, built from scratch and designed to win at highest levels. It is Toyota’s second global GR model, following the successful launch of the GR Supra in 2018.
There were basic challenges to be met in terms of technical know-how and creating a car that customers would buy. From the outset, the development team worked closely with Tommi Mäkinen Racing to better understand how their goals could be achieved. It was a detailed and labour-intensive process, but one which has yielded strong results in terms of a car that has an ideal combination of rigid, lightweight construction, an agile and responsive chassis and a powerful yet compact turbo engine.
Professional rally drivers, including members of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, drove the prototype models and provided valuable feedback. Testing was also carried out by Akio Toyoda in his expert role as a Toyota Master Driver.
The GR Yaris is built on a unique platform, combining Toyota’s new GA-B platform (which debuted on the new generation Yaris hatchback) and a rear section adapted from the GA-C platform used for the Corolla and C-HR. The rally team emphasised the importance of light weight and this is reflected in the use of aluminium body panels and a forged carbon composite roof in the body structure, and scrutiny of how weight could be reduced in parts throughout the car.
For the best possible aerodynamic performance, the body itself is another unique element: although based on the new Yaris hatchback, it is a three rather than five-door model, with a lower, tapering roof line. This has been designed specifically to direct wind flow onto the large rear rally car spoiler to generate extra downforce. As with a competition car, the shaping of the lower body efficiently channels airflow down the sides of the vehicle.
The engine is also all-new, a 1.6-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged unit. It is the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine and also the smallest and lightest 1.6 turbo. Producing 261 DIN hp and 360 Nm of torque, it complies with WRC2 technical regulations and can launch the GR Yaris from rest to 100 km/h in just 5.5 seconds, and on to an electronically limited top speed of 230 km/h. Its construction makes use of features derived directly from motor sport, including a ball bearing turbocharger, large-diameter exhaust valves and multi-jet oil piston cooling.
A kerb weight of just 1,280 kg gives the GR Yaris an excellent weight-to-power ratio of 4.9 kg per 1 DIN hp.
Engine power is harnessed through a Toyota’s new GR-FOUR permanent, electronically controlled all-wheel drive system. Another competition-inspired feature, this provides three driving modes with different front/rear drive torque to suit the conditions - Normal, Track and Sport.
#ToyotaGRYaris