Toyota has got the sporty taste well, only the Corolla seems to have largely escaped the attention of the GR division to date. However, it seems that a GR Corolla is also on the way, with technology from the GR Yaris on board.
With the Toyota GR Yaris, the Japanese show that they are very capable of building an extremely spectacular hot hatch. It did that a generation earlier with the milder and more accessible Yaris GRMN. However, the compact middle segment is still devoid of a sporty entry from Toyota, because the Corolla does not go further than GR Sport decoration for the time being. That while competitors such as Ford and Volkswagen respectively have the Focus ST and Golf GTI in the showroom. Time to put that right, it seems.
Our British colleagues from Auto Express have come across an interesting forum discussion, in which there is talk of an Instagram photo of Toyota USA that seems to hint at the arrival of a GR Corolla. The photo, which was posted almost a month ago, appears to contain all kinds of strange things that could refer to a GR Corolla.
At first glance, we see an ordinary Corolla interior. It is, except for a few details. For example, ‘G:16’ can be seen in the set of instruments. Let that just largely be the engine code of the new blown 1.6 three-cylinder from the GR Yaris. The climate control display shows a ‘2’ on the left and ’68’ on the right. The block of the GR Yaris is good for 268 hp (261 hp). The undoubtedly fictitious road on the navigation system is called ‘GR Four’, which can be seen as a reference to Toyota’s sporty four-wheel drive system. The biggest hint, however, is hidden outside the car: in the top right we see a car with Toyota’s camouflage color scheme. Probably a prototype of the GR Corolla. Toyota adds: ‘Keep them guessing’, or ‘let them guess’. Can’t be a coincidence.
So unless we’re really misled, it looks like the Corolla will also undergo the GR treatment, borrowing the drivetrain from the GR Yaris. Then it becomes a nice stubborn alternative to the aforementioned competitors. The Golf GTI and Focus ST do not have four-wheel drive, but again a four-cylinder. In terms of power, the GR Corolla with its 268 hp would fit well between the two: the Golf GTI has 245 hp at its disposal, the Focus ST 280 hp, just like the Hyundai i30 N. Now we have to wait and see when it will come and whether we can welcome the GR Corolla in the Netherlands.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl