New Toyota GR Yaris makes world debut

MANILA: The latest iteration of the Gazoo-fied Toyota Yaris’ has just made its global debut.

According to the Japanese carmaker, the motorsport-bred vehicle has been developed under the “Thanks for breaking it” slogan — reflecting the feedback from professional race drivers and evaluation drivers, as well as from Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman Akio Toyoda (who is also known as Morizo).

The vehicle developments made by Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR), the firm shared, not only shows on the vehicle's power unit but also in its body, interior, exterior, and everywhere else in the car to provide enhanced performance.

Up front, the newly-unveiled iteration of the Toyota GR Yaris wears a thin and light steel mesh with larger side lower vents. The hatchback’s side lower grilles feature a larger opening to ensure cooling performance. 

At the rear, the lower garnish has an opening to let air escape from under the floor to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve maneuverability and stability.

Powering the latest Toyota GR Yaris is 1.6-liter inline three-cylinder turbo engine with four-wheel-drive drivetrain that can dish out up to nearly 300 horsepower and 400 Newton-meters of torque. 

The power mill is mated to either a six-speed manual gearbox or eight-speed Gazoo Racing Direct Automatic Transmission that is designed to milk out the best performance from the engine.

Eyed to give the vehicle a higher power band, the new automatic slushbox offering is said to be based on Toyoda’s desire to “provide the fun of driving to as many people as possible and to expand the scope of motorsports.”

Toyota explained that while conventional gear shifting relies on sensing vehicle behavior, such as deceleration g-force, speed, the optimized automatic transmission control software also senses how the driver steps on the brakes and the accelerator.

In addition, the vehicle’s gear shift clutch and control software are made up of heat-resistant friction material to help achieve world-class gear-shifting speeds.

Further, the new Toyota GR Yaris' stopping power comes from ventilated disc brakes (18-inch at the front, 16-inch for the back) unlike the previous version’s four- and two pot calipers at the fore and rear, respectively.

Providing the grip on the road are the BBS forged aluminum wheels wrapped in 225/40ZR18 Michelin Sport 4S tires.

Photos from Toyota

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