The Toyota GR Yaris is a true pocket rocket and in stock form, is capable of some very impressive things. As is so often the case with enthusiast-oriented cars, however, the GR Yaris has become popular among tuners looking to lift its performance to new heights.
One of the companies paving the way is EKanooRacing. The Middle Eastern tuner has built some of the world’s quickest Nissan GT-Rs and Porsche 911s over the years and also has both the world’s most powerful GR Yaris and world’s quickest GR Yaris in its possession.
Read: Toyota Has Reportedly No Plans For Any Other GR Performance Models
There have been a pair of GR Yaris models overhauled by the tuner. The first, finished in a bright shade of blue, became the first example of the potent Japanese hot hatch to run down the quarter-mile in less than 11 seconds, achieving a best time of 10.98 seconds earlier this year. The tuner also owns a grey GR Yaris that this month, set a new horsepower benchmark.
From the factory, the 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine of the GR Yaris churns out up to 268 hp in JDM specification. That’s a very respectable number for an engine this small. However, EKanooRacing has somehow managed to extract 549 hp out of its grey GR Yaris. Making this horsepower figure all the more remarkable is the fact that it was recorded at all four wheels, meaning the engine itself would easily be pumping out more than 600 hp.
The full list of modifications made to the engine are not known but EKanooRacing has fitted the car with an aftermarket turbocharger, a new ECU, a custom exhaust, and a new intercooler. It’s unclear if any internal upgrades have been made to the compact three-cylinder.