Yahoo Autos The Toyota Corolla Could Get a Gazoo Racing Version, Too
A year ago, Toyota said it would eventually build performance versions of every car it makes. Two weeks ago, it trademarked three names in Australia: Corolla GR, C-HR GR-Sport and C-HR GR-S. We’re hoping this is the start of a full, sporty GR line, and we’re hoping they come stateside.
Our first introduction to GR (Gazoo Racing) was with the Toyota Supra. Since then we’ve seen the Japan-only Yaris GR, which is different then our Yaris here, with a 1.6-liter turbocharged I3 making a healthy 268 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, sent to all four wheels via a manual transmission. That particular car won’t come here, but Toyota Motor North America executive vice president Bob Carter did say that there will be a U.S. equivalent.
Which brings us to the Corolla GR and C-HR trademarks discovered by the GT86 Forum. The Corolla GR would probably be a Honda Civic Si competitor if it was a sedan and VW GTI competitor if it was a hatchback—and with the company’s latest sporty turn, there’s no reason it shouldn’t be good.
The best option would be bringing that 1.6-liter turbo-three here and putting it in every small car the company makes. The current top Corollas deliver just 169 hp and 151 lb-ft, so that would be a huge jump. The engine from the Camry would probably make more sense, though, bringing 203 hp and 184 lb-ft from a 2.5-liter I4. But we can hope.
As for the C-HR compact crossover, we’re guessing GR-Sport and/or GR-S would be midrange sporty models with handling and visual upgrades but not a more powerful engine. We wouldn’t complain about that either.
You Might Also Like
