No changes have been made to the GR Yaris’ powertrain, and its 1.6-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine still produces 257 hp and 360 Nm
Toyota had revealed the performance-oriented GR Yaris at the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon earlier this year, and the hot hatch received lots of praise for its impressive power figures as well as the fact that it is being offered with a manual transmission and an all-wheel drive configuration.
Now, the Japanese car manufacturer has introduced a range of visual upgrades as well as a performance enhancement for the hatchback, which has been co-developed with the Gazoo Racing division. Talking about the sole performance upgrade first, it gets a front strut tower bar which also doubles up as a visual enhancement, thanks to its red edges that blend in with the red highlights on the engine cover.
The visual changes include a massive front bumper diffuser, gloss black side skirts, as well as a new diffuser at the rear that comes integrated with four exhaust outlets. Visually, Toyota has tried to give the GR Yaris a lower stance with these parts, and it should also be noted that these visual enhancements do cost about 12 mm of ground clearance.
Apart from that, the upgrades for the GR Yaris also include body strips, tyre valve caps and carbon-fiber number plate frames. On the inside, the car gets unique floor mats, a luggage compartment mat, and carbon interior trim panels on the dashboard as well as door panels.
No changes have been made to the GR Yaris’ 1.6-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which continues to produce 257 hp of max power, along with 360 Nm peak torque on the Euro-spec model. As of now, this particular engine is the world’s most powerful 3-cylinder engine. The car gets a four-wheel drive system, and the transmission duties are taken care of by a six-speed manual gearbox as standard. The GR Yaris is also equipped with two Torsen limited-slip differentials.
The hot hatch can sprint from 0 to 100 kmph in under 5.5 seconds, but its top speed has been electrically limited to 230 kmph. In the European markets, the GR Yaris puts up against the likes of the VW Golf GTI, Golf R, Hyundai i30 N and the Subaru WRX STI.