A GR-OWLING NEW GAZOO RACING COROLLA – AN ALLOUT COMPACT PERFORMANCE CONTENDER

TOYOTA’s NEW ALLOUT COMPACT PERFORMANCE CONTENDER, FROM MILD TO WILD.

The wholesome Toyota Corolla will finally ditch its dull-but-worth-it reputation at the back end of this year. It can now smoke the tyres, drift and do donuts.

That’s thanks to the all-new GR Corolla, which comes with a turbocharged engine, all-wheel drive and the usual go fast upgrades to the bodywork, brakes and suspension.

There have been quick Corollas in the past, most of them developed by rally teams or Japanese drifters and not at the product planning department, but Brand T is going all-out for its newbie.

The Gazoo Racing Corolla features a body kit that steps it well away from anything that’s worn a Corolla badge in the past.

It’s the headline act for the Gazoo Racing range in Australian showrooms – joining the Supra and Yaris and upcoming 86 – with a likely starting price around $70,000. It will follow the limited-edition path of the Yaris, with around 500 cars set for Australia.

The mechanical package is also picked up from the Yaris hot hatch, but with extra tweaking and with a body kit that steps it well away from anything that’s worn a Corolla badge in the past.

The headline number for the GR Corolla, which Toyota describes as a ’sports car,’ is 220 kiloWatts of power.

It also comes standard with the GRFOUR all-wheel drive system, but with Torsen limited-slip differentials for both axles and a six-speed manual gearbox with a short-throw lever. Toyota says it has separated the ‘4WD’ and ‘Drive’ modes so the driver can tune their handling preference, and there is also a mechanical handbrake to assist with drifting.

Tough looks for the Gazoo Racing Corolla, with flared guards at each engine, a huge front bumper air intake, a bonnet bulge and air outlets on the front guards.

The engine is an extra development from the three-cylinder power-plant fitted to the Yaris – and also in Toyota’s latest Rally1 contender and the Bates Motorsport runners in the Australian Rally Championship – but it gets a 10 per cent power boost thanks to a triple muffler exhaust system.

The shape of the Corolla is the same as the basic shopping trolley, but with flared guards at each engine, a huge front bumper air intake, a bonnet bulge and air outlets on the front guards.

The body has been strengthened, with braces between the rear wheel wheels, in the floor tunnel and ahead of the fuel tank, and there are pillow-ball bushings and enhanced springs, shock absorbers and bespoke wheel alignment for the suspension.

Toyota says it has fitted ‘opposed calliper disc brakes’ and the cabin picks up a thin-film transistor display to monitor the sports modes.

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