Toyota has been promising for some time to unleash a hot-hatch version of the Yaris. And the time will finally come at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show just a couple of months from now.
Pictured here for the first time is the forthcoming Yaris hot hatch, accompanied by one salient detail: it’ll pack over 210 horsepower, putting it in prime position to dice it with the likes of the Renaultsport Clio 200 and the 189-hp Volkswagen Polo GTI.
Unlike those five-door models, though, the hot Yaris will pack three doors, and naturally feature other visual and performance upgrades. As you can see, those will include upgraded rolling stock, enhanced aero, and some splashy graphics reminiscent of the Japanese automaker’s racing livery.
The hot hatch will appear on Toyota’s stage at the Swiss auto expo alongside the new WRC-spec rally car that’s set to debut at the Monte Carlo Rally next week.
While Toyota’s European division was releasing these preliminary photos and details, its global headquarters revealed other revisions to the Vitz (as the model’s known in the Japanese Domestic Market). Bearing subtle cosmetic modifications inside and out, the Vitz will now be offered with a hybrid powertrain, just like the Yaris Hybrid offered in Europe.
Just how (and why) Toyota will distinguish this model from the Aqua (Japan’s version of the similarly updated Prius C), we don’t know. But the 99-horsepower hybrid option will be offered in front-drive form only, joining the 1.0- and 1.3-liter conventional powertrain options that can be had with front- or all-wheel drive.
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