It’s hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about Toyota’s GR Yaris. But we reckon the driver of this particular example probably mouthed a few expletives when he made a mess of leaving a British car show earlier this month.
The tiny three-cylinder hot hatch has won praise the world over for its fun and friendly all-wheel drive chassis. Toyota originally designed the GR Yaris as a homologation special for treir rally car, but still put it into production even when those plans were scrapped. Given the hugely positive effect it has had on Toyota’s image, they must be glad they did.
The GR’s G16E-GTS 1.6-liter turbo-three drives all four wheels exclusively through a six-speed manual transmission (no paddle shifters here) and while 100 per cent of the engine’s grunt can theoretically be sent to either axle, three driving modes allow the driver to alter the front to rear torque split. Normal delivers 70 per cent of torque to the front end, Track divides it equally front to rear, and Sport sends 70 per cent to the rear.
And it looks like this GR’s driver might have engaged Sport mode before trying to show off to the Cars of England YouTube channel’s camera as he left a Cars and Coffee event at the Motorist’s Hub in Leeds.
Related: Toyota GR Yaris Visits The Nurburgring Nordschleife For A Timed Lap
https://youtu.be/Ud0PrselgAU?t=629
The short-wheelbase Circuit Pack-equipped GR Yaris’ back end snaps sideways as the driver joins the main road and he’s simply not quick enough with the steering correction to prevent the car making an embarrassing trip into the grass verge on the opposite side of the road.
We can’t be sure whether the Yaris suffered any damage to its front bumper or 10-spoke Circuit Pack wheels, but we’re guessing the only thing hurt was the driver’s pride.