Upcoming Toyota GR Corolla hot hatch has appeared in the background of a Toyota advert
- New Toyota GR Corolla is expected to arrive in 2023
- Could use the same turbo engine as the GR Yaris
- Will join the Yaris and the new GR86 sports car in Toyota’s sporty GR range
There is a new version of the Toyota Corolla on the way with a sportier focus, and it’s been teased by Toyota in a new video advert for the GR86 sports car. The new model will be called the GR Corolla, as hinted previously by trademark filings, and it’s also been teased previously with a picture of the car’s interior.
The GR Corolla is seen in the video quickly in the background while the new GR86 drives past. It has a colourful wrap on the bodywork similar to the one seen on previous teaser pictures of the GR Yaris and GR86 in previous years.
In the ad, it’s also possible to spot the rear lights and a spoiler. We’ve already seen in the interior teaser shot that an automatic gearbox will be available, although a manual model is likely as well.
This is because the GR Corolla is expected to use the same engine as the four-wheel-drive GR Yaris. This car has a three-cylinder 1.6-litre petrol engine with 257bhp, or 268bhp in the Japanese market, and a manual gearbox. The engine may get a bit more power in the Corolla to help it compete with rivals, and it will probably use four-wheel drive as well.
The new Corolla will rival models such as the Ford Focus ST, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Skoda Octavia vRS and Hyundai i30 N. It’ll go into showrooms alongside the Toyota GR Yaris and possibly a hot GR C-HR SUV as well. The C-HR is based on the same tech as the Corolla, so it’s likely to use an identical set-up to the GR Corolla, whatever that turns out to be.
The Toyota Corolla hatchback is now hybrid-only, so you might be surprised that the hot version won’t have a mix of petrol and electric power. The EU sets strict CO2 emissions targets for manufacturers but because Toyota already has so many low-emission hybrid models, there’s scope for it to create a petrol-only sports model.
Speaking to our sister site, Auto Express, Toyota’s European President Johan van Zyl confirmed that the GR cars will be exciting petrol models. “Is the GR Yaris a volume contributor? No, it’s not going to be. But it does help with the positioning of our cars – more fun, excitement? Yes, it helps. And if you add it to the mix and calculate the impact to our CO2 averages, we can accommodate that.”
Toyota is still planning to introduce a number of hybrid and electric models by 2025, so there’s room for a few more low-volume fast cars.
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Keyword: Toyota GR Corolla: new hot hatch spotted in teaser video