WEAPONS GR4DE

THE TOYOTA GR YARIS WANTS TO BE THE GUN HOT HATCH AND HAS A HELL OF AN IMPRESSIVE ARSENAL AT ITS DISPOSAL

- SCOOT NEWMAN

PORTUGAL'S SINTRA region is a haven for royalty. The World Heritage-listed National Palace was consistently occupied by Portuguese kings from the early 15th to the late 19th century; the accompanying castle dates back a further 600 years still. In more recent times, primarily the 1970s and ’80s, Sintra played a crucial role in the Portuguese round of the World Rally Championship, motorsport monarchs like Markku Alen, Walter Rohrl, Hannu Mikkola and Michele Mouton mastering the stages, seas of rabid spectators parting just long enough to allow the passage of screaming Group 4 131 Abarths and bellowing Group B Quattros.

It's apt, then, that Toyota should choose the region for our first taste of its new road-going rally car, the GR Yaris. If that seems too tall an order for the humble Yaris, consider that the GR will form the basis of the successor to the machine that carried Ott Tanak to the 2019 world title. The days of the true homologation special are sadly over, but Toyota hasn't just thrown the kitchen sink at its new Yaris, it has included the refrigerator and most of the microwave as well, in the process transforming the Yaris from an inoffensive city car into an all-wheel drive hot hatch.

It starts with the bodyshell. The GR is the only three-door Yaris, a decision made to provide a stiffer, more aerodynamic base for the World Rally Car. The roofline is lowered 95mm to reduce drag and the roof itself is carbonfibre, an unheard-of addition in this segment. To further shed weight, the doors, bonnet and hatch are aluminium, the net result being a 38kg saving over the previous Yaris body-in-white.