- Toyota has released a track-focused smartphone app in Japan for owners of the GR Yaris and Lexus LBX Morizo RR.
- The app claims to cut turbo lag by controlling boost pressure to allow speedier pickup.
- Other benefits include a raised speed limiter, shift lights and improved cooling via optimal control of the radiator fan.
Toyota’s GR Yaris is the kind of car owners would want to hoon around a track, so Toyota has come up with a special smartphone app to help them get the most out of the experience.
The Circuit Mode app is available from August 21 in Japan for owners of the GR Yaris built since April 2024, and also anyone who has a Lexus LBX Morizo RR, which uses the same turbocharged three-cylinder engine.
Related: Toyota GRMN Yaris Is Testing Again With Akio Toyoda At the Wheel
One of the app’s features is a set of configurable shift lights to make sure you time your ratio swaps perfectly, but that’s not the only way it claims to improve your speed. Another is by raising the car’s electronic speed limiter, which we believe is otherwise set at 180 kmh (112 mph) according to a voluntary agreement between Japanese automakers.
But the app also says it can improve your speed coming out of corners by better managing the turbo boost. And to ensure that all of the newfound additional speed doesn’t cook the engine, the app also optimizes the operation of the cooling fan for track use.
Toyota says the app contains data for 34 individual racetracks in Japan, including Fuji Speedway (where the raised speed limiter will definitely come in handy), Suzuka and Sodegaura Forest Raceway. Your smartphone uses GPS data to recognize when it has entered one of the facilities, allowing access to the various functions.
Though not available in the US, the GR Yaris has been a popular enthusiast choice in Europe, Australia and Japan since its launch in 2020. Earlier this year Toyota added an eight-speed automatic transmission option, tweaked the interior and modified the 1.6-liter powertrain to bump power from 268 hp (272 PS) to the same 300 hp (305 PS) that engine makes in America’s GR Corolla.
And only last month Lexus dropped the 300-horse, all-wheel drive setup into its LBX subcompact SUV, calling the result the LBX Morizo RR.
