A New Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla Was Teased and We Didn’t Even Know It
Article Highlights:
- Toyota teases a new GR Corolla in an Instagram post
- The GR Yaris’ drivetrain finds its way into a Corolla
- Gazoo Racing builds some of the fastest Toyotas
Fast homologated rally cars don’t often make their way stateside. In fact, the Subaru WRX and STI are the only ones that come readily to mind. But the list of cars we don’t get? Much longer. Among them is the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris, forbidden 3-cylinder hot hatch fruit. We’ve all been clamoring for it to come to the US, but Toyota won’t do it. However, what Toyota might do, is give us everything they can in a Toyota Corolla shell.
What is Gazoo Racing?
You’d be forgiven for not knowing what Gazoo Racing, or GR, is. In effect, these folks are a lot like the ones at BMW’s M division. They take Toyota stuff and make it go really fast. To have them put their hands on a Toyota Corolla hatchback could be something special. First, let’s sort out some confusion with all this Gazoo nonsense so we can figure out what the brand has in store for the newer, faster Toyota Corolla.
Gazoo Racing was a sort of skunkworks project started by Akio Toyoda before he was appointed head boss at Toyota. They build race cars for the World Endurance Championship (think: <a href="https://<!– wp:paragraph –> <p>Gazoo Racing was a sort of skunkworks project started by Akio Toyoda before he was appointed head b<a href="https://www.motorbiscuit.com/this-is-the-only-brand-new-toyota-you-cant-have/">oss at Toyota. They build race cars for the World Endurance Championship (think: </a>24 Hours of Le Mans and the GR Super Sport), and the World Rally Championship. They've also built a number of non-USDM models like a GR version of the brand's CH-R crossover. In short, they make Toyota stuff go real fast.</p> 24 Hours of Le Mans and the GR Super Sport), and the World Rally Championship. They’ve also built a number of non-USDM models like a GR version of the brand’s CH-R crossover. In short, they make Toyota stuff go real fast.
There’s a hot Toyota Corolla hatch on the way
So, let’s dig into the Instagram post above. Toyota left a bunch of very subtle Gazoo Racing-related clues in the Toyota Corolla marketing post above. It’s a game of car “Where’s Waldo,” and the rewards are exciting. First, there’s the “G:16” text where the clock would normally be on a Toyota Corolla. We’re thinking that’s a reference to the GR Yaris’ G16 turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Shift your eyes further down and you’ll see the climate controls are set to 2 and 68, likely the power output for the JDM Toyota GR Yaris’ motor.
Additionally, the navigation screen shows the Toyota Corolla on a road called “GR Four.” That’s Toyota-speak for the brand’s AWD system, found in the Gazoo Racing Yaris. Finally, you can see a camouflaged Toyota Corolla hatchback in the background behind the car. Put all that together, and we’ve got some interesting stuff on our hands.
We still won’t be getting the GR Yaris
Based on these easter eggs, it looks like we’re getting a Toyota Corolla with the drivetrain from the GR Yaris. Honestly, that almost sounds better than Toyota bringing a GR Yaris Stateside. The biggest weakness of that car is its small size makes it pretty tough to use on the daily. The larger Toyota Corolla platform could fix that quite handily. As for when, we’ll have to wait on Toyota for more information on this supposed GR Toyota Corolla.
