With cars such as the Renault Clio, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 208, Mazda2 and upcoming Honda Jazz, Europe’s subcompact hatchback segment is booming.
Toyota also wants a piece of the action with the all-new Yaris, which was revealed only last week, and they could step up their game in the future by launching a hot variant.
Toyota Europe’s Executive VP, Matt Harrison, spoke to Autocar about a stronger connection of the Japanese auto brand and Gazoo Racing motorsport, admitting that they are looking at other vehicles aside from the GR Supra.
Also Read: Toyota Yaris Spied On The ‘Ring – Is It A Next-Gen Performance Version?
“This is the strategy of Gazoo Racing – not just the sports cars, like Supra, but to look at performance derivatives as well”, said Harrison, who also suggested a possible GR Yaris. “We have some ideas about more aspiration opportunities for the car, but you’ll hear more in a couple of months.”
“That’s more related to our desire to link Yaris to our success in motorsport. On selected vehicles, we will look at a GR derivative, which is differentiated on these grounds – whether that’s displacement or whatever.”
That’s hardly a confirmation, but it’s not a denial either, so as Harrison explained, we should find out whether the new Yaris is getting a GR version in a few months.
If its anything like its predecessor, the new hot hatch would throw the ball so deep in Renault’s, VW’s and Ford’s yard that they’ll spend a lot of time searching for it. That’s because the previous Yaris GRMN was very fast, with its 1.8-liter, supercharged engine producing 212 PS (209 hp / 156 kW) and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque, and rocketing it to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.3 seconds. The new one should be even quicker and might not go down the electrification route, as a regular ICE is believed to be the powerplant of choice, although it’s unknown whether it will be turbocharged or supercharged.
