Two weeks ago, Toyota GRMN released its wildest road car ever: a 257hp all-wheel drive rally homologation called the GR Yaris. Featuring a sole 6-speed manual gearbox, three-cylinder goodness, and an exhaust note more suited to a Welsh rally stage, the GR Yaris is the single most powerful three-cylinder road car ever built. Those that have driven it in early tests have said that it truly feels like a road-legal rally car (a la 1st generation Subaru WRX). In fact, in terms of handling, the most recent car to display similar feeling was the 2008 Audi TTRS which felt similar to a 1980’s Group B rally car when under full power.
Now it seems that this forbidden fruit hot hatchback could be making the leap across the pond from its home market in Japan, as shown by a recent tweet from Toyota USA .
Citing a Jalopnik article, Toyota USA tweeted asking for fans to let them know if they were interested in having this car sold in the American market. With the launch edition priced around the equivalent of $36,000, the best guess would be placing the “normal” GR Yaris around $30,000USD, about three thousand dollars cheaper than the John Cooper Works MINI, and $10,000 less than the similar-performing Volkswagen Golf R. The closest rival to this, in fact would be the Hyundai Veloster N in terms of both power output and price.
So, why should Toyota bring this fizzing rocket of a car over to America? Simple: Toyota is already trying to change their image from beige to red hot. With models like the Camry TRD, Supra, 86, and even now the Corolla Hatchback, Toyota has shown their interest in shaking up the market. A rally homologation hatchback is the next step in showing how serious Toyota can be with moving towards a performance lineup.
Not only would this car re-cement Toyota’s sporting heritage in the US market better than ever before, but it would force many companies’ hands with their performance car development. It would force Nissan to make the 370Z replacement more than just a pretty face, it would force companies to bring back manual transmission sporty cars. Toyota, for how many people are begging for this car to be sold here, that alone is reason enough to bring it over.
6th Gear Auto 