Toyota GRMN Yaris revealed at Tokyo Auto Salon, limited to just 500 units

KUALA LUMPUR: Toyota GR Yaris is a well-known name in the world of compact sports cars, and here we have its hotter version in front of us. Dubbed as the GRMN Yaris, the new hatchback is a fully tuned version of the GR Yaris that has gone through rigorous refinement with professional drivers. 

Toyota Gazoo Racing showcased the GRMN Yaris at Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 in three different trims. All of them will be exclusively available in Japan with a limited quantity of 500 units. The sales will begin at GR Garages around summer 2022, confirms the automaker. 

Let’s know how the GRMN Yaris is different from the standard model -

The development of the GRMN Yaris began with the brand's President Akio Toyoda's desire to "deliver cars to customers that evolve quickly and can be tailored to individuals like in the field of motorsports."

For that purpose, the weight of the car has been shed by 20 kg. It also sits 10 mm closer to the ground and also has 10 mm extra width. 

The hotter GRMN Yaris is powered by the same 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine available on the GR Yaris. The engine delivers the same 268 bhp output as before, however, the peak torque has increased from 370 Nm to 390 Nm. 

While the power plant remains the same, the hotter model gets a raft of mechanical alterations that make the car significantly different to drive. The transmission has been tweaked for extra strength in the lower gears. The Torsen differentials of the GR Yaris have also been replaced by mechanical limited-slip diffs.

The two available packages on offer are the Circuit Package and the Rally Package. With the former, the car is fitted with the following equipment -

• BBS GRMN dedicated 18-inch wheels
• 18-inch brakes
• Bilstein shock absorber with adjustable damping force
• Carbon Rear spoiler
• Side skirt
• Lip spoiler

The Rally Package adds a GR shock absorber & short stabilizer link set, GR under guard set, and GR roll bar (with sidebar) to the kit.

The standard GRMN Yaris is priced at JPY 7,317,000 (RM 266,628), the GRMN Yaris with Circuit Package costs JPY 8,467,000 (RM 308,511), and the GRMN Yaris with Rally Package retails for JPY 8,378,764 (RM 305,296).

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