Lapping the Nurburgring Bridge to Gantry in under 8 minutes in a tiny stock hatchback is a very, very impressive achievement, and the Toyota GR Yaris can brag about it – unofficially, of course, because this wasn’t an official run.
Truth be told, the weather conditions were not ideal either, as according to the YouTube video that follows at the end of the page, the outside temperature was 6 degrees Celsius (43F), and the track wasn’t empty, so surely that made it lose a few precious seconds.
Review: The Toyota GR Yaris Circuit Pack Is A Proper Rally Car For The Road
The run from Bridge to Gantry took place on November 22, at 3 in the afternoon, local time, took 7 minutes and 56 seconds, and the GR Yaris was stock, with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires on its feet. That might sound like cheating, but they’re actually sold by Toyota as part of the optional Circuit Pack, which also includes the 18-inch forged wheels and performance-tuned suspension.
That time puts it on the same level as the Corvette C5 Z06 and Porsche 996 Turbo, while pulling ahead of the pre-facelift BMW M2 (7:58), according to these times posted on Wikipedia.
What drives the Yaris GR?
Other highlights include the 1.6-liter three-pot, making 257-horsepower and 265 pound-feet (360 Nm) of torque, in European specification, which drives all four wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The engine is the most powerful three-banger currently in production, and it allows the car to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in under 5.5 seconds, and a 143 mph (230 km/h) limited top speed.
The GR Yaris has a starting price of €33,200 in Germany, which equals to $39,359 at the current exchange rates, and £29,995 in the United Kingdom, or $39,831. It won’t launch in North America, unfortunately.