The Detroit Three automakers have abandoned small cars, but foreign manufacturers continue to embrace a compact market full of first-time buyers and enthusiasts.
Toyota unveiled a U.S.-focused performance variant of its best-selling Corolla compact car Thursday night called the GR. That’s pronounced Grrrrr.
Based on Corolla’s hatchback model, the GR will feature aggressive styling and an insane, 300-horsepower, turbocharged 3-cylinder engine shared with the wee GR Yaris that has been setting European streets on fire.
Developed by the brand’s Gazoo Racing arm, the hot hatch joins other all-wheel-drive hellions in the compact performance space like the Subaru WRX and Mazda3 Turbo. Other rivals include front-drive pocket rockets including the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Jetta GLI, Honda STI and Type R, and Hyundai Elantra N.
Ford once competed in the segment with its raucous, front-wheel-drive Focus ST model and all-wheel-drive Focus RS. They have since retreated from U.S. shores along with the Focus sedan, which is still sold in Europe. The RS’s turbocharged, 2.3-liter turbo-4 lives on in the Mustang High Performance model.
Detroit brands have focused on the two-door, muscle-car segment with models like the Mustang, Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro to attract performance enthusiasts. Toyota has also flooded the sports car space with its affordable GR86 corner-carver (which also wears the Gazoo Racing (GR) badge) and the Corvette-fighting Supra.
The GR Corolla, however, marks a major expansion of Toyota's ambitions in the car space. Like the mid-size Camry, the popular Corolla has been perennial best-seller in its segment — but Toyota has resisted the siren call to build performance variants like competitors Honda and Hyundai. Only more stylish trims like the Corolla XLE were offered, but with little change to the oily bits.
The GR Corolla changes all that.
Like Honda’s wildly successful Si and Type R models, the GR stuffs Corolla with an entirely new engine: the ferocious, 1.6-liter turbo-3 cylinder. King Kong in a suitcase, the small mill is the first three-holer in a class dominated by four-bangers. But its numbers are segment competitive with 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque.
The GR Corolla will come with a manual transmission only, which will be catnip for enthusiasts. It will also come exclusively in all-wheel-drive — another big departure for a brand that has resisted four-wheel propulsion in its sedans. AWD is common in Toyota’s SUV and truck lineups.
Called GR Four, the AWD system will be configurable so that drivers can choose 70-30 torque split for better grip — or 50-50 for better track handing. A sophisticated McPherson front/double-wishbone rear suspension will help keep the pocket rocket planted.
The GR Corolla dovetails with Toyota president and chief motorhead Akio Toyoda's ambitions to make his company more appealing to enthusiasts. Toyota is one of three manufacturers in NASCAR, it has won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race four years running, and the GR is production proof of Gazoo Racing’s GT racing efforts at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring — with none other than President Toyoda at the heel.
GR Corolla has done extensive track testing at top Japanese circuits, including Fuji Speedway, Suzuka Formula One track, and Tsukuba.
GR will come in two trims — the Core and Circuit editions. The latter will be exclusive to the GR Corolla's launch year and will come with significant enhancements like a swollen hood, suede seats, bigger rear spoiler, carbon-finer hood and dual limited-slip differentials.
Along with the pending, all-new, winged Civic Type-R, the muscled Circuit Edition should take some of the sting out of Subaru’s decision this year not to offer a WRX STI model.
Both GR models will be easily distinguished from the standard Corolla with swollen fenders, aggressive front facias, and three exhaust pipes out the rear. The GR will come with fat, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires and beefy, 14-inch brake calipers to bring them to a stop.
Inside, GR Corolla will be nicely appointed with GR logo-tamped seats and digital displays — including an eight-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. True to the Toyota brand, the hot hatch will be loaded with standard safety features, including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot-assist, auto high beams and collision avoidance detection.
Manual-shift enthusiasts will be thrilled to hear a hand brake will be standard, as will hill-start control. A one-year membership in the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) will be offered with on-track driving instruction to learn the GR's capabilities.
The new Toyota will be built at Gazoo Racing’s Motomachi, Japan, facility and will go on sale stateside later this year. Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but expect the GR to start around $30,000.
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