- Toyota GR boss, Tomoya Takahashi, is open to adding an automatic transmission to the GR Corolla if there is enough customer demand.
- Sales figures from the GR Supra and GR86 suggest an automatic option could be successful, as a majority of buyers opt for automatics in those models.
- A GR Corolla Auto would likely inherit the 8-speed automatic from the recently facelifted GR Yaris.
The Toyota GR Corolla is currently offered exclusively with a manual gearbox, but this may change in the future. Gazoo Racing boss, Tomoya Takahashi, stated that an automatic transmission could potentially be introduced to the GR Corolla lineup if there is sufficient demand from customers.
The president of Toyota Gazoo Racing was asked about the possibility of an automatic transmission in the GR Corolla during a media briefing in Australia. According to local media reports, Takahashi, replied: “If there is customer demand, maybe”.
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Sean Hanley, head of sales and marketing in Toyota Australia, commented that prospective buyers from Down Under would certainly be interested in such an offering. As reported by Drive, Hanley said that the automatic option represents over half of the GR Supra and GR86 sales, indicating that Australians would “gravitate to an auto if it was available” for the GR Corolla.
Something similar would likely apply to the North American market, where the majority of drivers either don’t know how to drive a stick or aren’t even interested. An automatic GR Corolla would also enable Toyota to better compete with other performance-focused models like the VW Golf R, the Subaru Impreza WRX, and the Hyundai Elantra N.
It wouldn’t be unprecedented, as Toyota added an 8-speed automatic option to the previously manual-only GR Yaris hot hatch with the recent facelift. The latter features the same turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder powertrain as the GR Corolla. This suggests that Toyota engineers could easily adapt the “Direct Automatic Transmission” to fit the larger hot hatch, which rides on similar TNGA-C underpinnings.
The single-clutch automatic gearbox adds 40 lbs (18 kg) of weight to the GR Yaris but makes it quicker in a straight line. It also enhances its daily drivability, although it does detract from some of the model’s fun-to-drive character.
Based on the above information, we wouldn’t be surprised if Toyota introduces an automatic GR Corolla, possibly during the hot hatch’s facelift.
