Art showing the Toyota Corolla GR shredding its tires in billows of white smoke tell you what this all-new hot hatch is really all about.
“GR” stands for Gazoo Racing, which is the Japanese automaker’s performance/motorsport branch. And according to Road and Track,
American buyers have a hankering for a GR-branded, rally-inspired hot hatch, namely the smaller GR Yaris that’s available in Europe and Mexico.
Instead we get the Corolla GR loaded up with 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque from a turbo-charged, 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine that’s only available with a six-speed manual transmission.
It’s also all-wheel drive, and if ordered with the Performance Package or as the upgraded Circuit Edition, limited-slip differentials front and rear promise to raise the traction limit up higher in the corners.
It wears Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires wrapped around 18-inch, gloss-black 15-spoke cast alloy wheels, with ventilated four-piston calipers up front and two-piston calipers in the back, which are painted red in the Circuit Edition.
The Circuit Edition also gets a carbon fiber roof, raised hood, LED fog lamps and a special spoiler to go along with the standard GR Corolla’s aggressive bumpers flared fenders, extra cooling ducts and gloss black exterior accents.
Rally fans will be pleased to find an e-brake next to the shifter inside, along with the signature of Toyota President Akio Toyoda’s racing alias “Morizo.” in the Circuit edition.
An eight-inch touchscreen, CarPlay, Android Auto, radar cruise control and lane keeping assist are all standard. Pricing for the Toyota Corolla GR will be revealed before deliveries begin later this year.
