WTF is GR? Excellent question. Toyota debuted the GR or Gazoo Racing nameplate with its latest generation mark 5 Supra. I was there in Detroit when FERNANDO ALONSO debuted it – not important, but what is important is that you think of GR as like the Toyota equivalent of BMW’s M division or Mercedes AMG. So what do we know about this GR Corolla?
GR Corolla Styling and Platform
The GR Corolla will get flared fenders for wider and more aggressive rubber It’ll get hood vents for ACTUAL cooling. It’ll also be the first GR product to ride on Toyota’s GA-C platform. Checking in, pretty stoked, Americans? Yeah same, but just to poop on us a little bit, the rest of the world is going to get a wagon body-style while we make do with the 5 door hatch.
GR Corolla Engine
Fear not, cuz what’s under the hood is the same 1.6T 3 cylinder from the GR Yaris, yanno, the homologation special? Toyota will also be boosting up further because obviously this Corolla is bigger and heavier. So, as power goes, you can expect 296 HP and 300 lb-ft and that will go through a 6-speed manual transmission only..nice. There’s an eLSD up front BUT the AWD is the same system as the GR Yaris WRC homologation. The GR Corolla will sprint 0-60 in 5 seconds flat.
GR Corolla Price
Which leads us to price…and supposed figures are 32-37k so I’d guess 35k in North America…WHICH PUTS IT RIGHT BELOW THE CIVIC TYPE R…. It’s getting spicy over in Japan. Of course this GR corolla would be built in the GR plant in Japan as opposed to the new Type R which will be built in Indiana. Now, for those of you about to start clacking away on your keyboards, yes dealer markup is going to be REAL for both the 11th gen CTR and the GRC. Of course, without having driven the GR Corolla I have to stand by the exceptional CTR, but with a new gen on it’s way you expect it to always improve. However, that’s not always the case, and it’s not like Gazoo Racing is new to motorsport so I’m sure they can design a car. Also, I just tested the Corolla XSE in summer and it was actually quite good. Multilink rear, decent engine, manual trans. The only thing I didn’t like was the clutch pedal weight, but you can be sure that’ll be taken care of in this GR version. I’m VERY excited to see the official release next year in 2022, which my guess would be pretty close to whenever Honda starts talking Si and CTR for their new 11th gen.