{"id":28996,"date":"2022-04-01T22:58:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-02T02:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=28996"},"modified":"2022-04-01T22:58:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-02T02:58:39","slug":"unveiled-gr-corolla-transforms-toyota-compact-into-an-all-wheel-drive-hellion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/unveiled-gr-corolla-transforms-toyota-compact-into-an-all-wheel-drive-hellion","title":{"rendered":"Unveiled: GR Corolla transforms Toyota compact into an all-wheel drive hellion"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Three automakers have abandoned small cars, but foreign manufacturers continue to embrace a compact market\u00a0full of first-time buyers and enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

Toyota unveiled a U.S.-focused\u00a0performance variant of its best-selling Corolla compact car Thursday night called the GR. That\u2019s pronounced Grrrrr.<\/p>\n

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Based on Corolla\u2019s hatchback model, the GR will feature aggressive styling and an insane, 300-horsepower, turbocharged\u00a03-cylinder engine shared with the wee GR Yaris that has been setting European streets on fire.<\/p>\n

Developed by the brand\u2019s Gazoo Racing arm, the hot hatch joins other all-wheel-drive hellions in the compact performance space like the Subaru WRX and Mazda3 Turbo. Other rivals include front-drive pocket rockets including the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Jetta GLI, Honda STI and Type R, and Hyundai Elantra N.<\/p>\n

Ford once competed in the segment with its raucous, front-wheel-drive Focus ST model and all-wheel-drive Focus RS. They have since retreated from U.S. shores along with the Focus sedan, which is still sold in Europe. The RS\u2019s turbocharged, 2.3-liter turbo-4 lives on in the Mustang High Performance model.<\/p>\n

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Detroit brands have focused on the two-door, muscle-car segment with models like the Mustang, Dodge Challenger\u00a0and Chevy Camaro to attract performance enthusiasts. Toyota has also flooded the sports car space with its affordable GR86 corner-carver (which also wears\u00a0the Gazoo Racing (GR) badge)\u00a0and the Corvette-fighting Supra.<\/p>\n

The GR Corolla, however, marks a major expansion of Toyota’s ambitions in the car space. Like the mid-size\u00a0Camry, the popular Corolla has been perennial best-seller in its segment \u2014 but Toyota has resisted the siren call to build performance variants like competitors Honda and Hyundai. Only more stylish trims like the Corolla XLE were offered, but with little change to the oily\u00a0bits.<\/p>\n

The GR Corolla changes all that.<\/p>\n

Like Honda\u2019s wildly successful Si and Type R models, the GR stuffs\u00a0Corolla with an entirely new engine:\u00a0the ferocious, 1.6-liter turbo-3 cylinder. King Kong in a suitcase, the small mill\u00a0is the first three-holer\u00a0in a class dominated by four-bangers. But its numbers are segment competitive with 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque.<\/p>\n

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The GR Corolla will come with a manual transmission only, which will be catnip for enthusiasts. It will also come exclusively in all-wheel-drive \u2014 another big departure for a brand that has resisted four-wheel propulsion\u00a0in its sedans. AWD is common in Toyota\u2019s SUV and truck lineups.<\/p>\n

Called GR Four, the AWD system will be configurable so that drivers can choose 70-30 torque split for better grip \u2014 or 50-50 for better track handing. A sophisticated\u00a0McPherson front\/double-wishbone rear suspension\u00a0will help keep the pocket rocket planted.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n

The GR Corolla dovetails with Toyota president and chief motorhead Akio Toyoda’s ambitions to make his company more appealing to enthusiasts. Toyota is one of three manufacturers in NASCAR, it has won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race four years running, and the GR is production proof of Gazoo Racing\u2019s GT racing efforts at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring \u2014 with none other than President Toyoda at the heel.<\/p>\n

GR Corolla has done extensive track testing at top Japanese circuits, including Fuji Speedway, Suzuka Formula One track, and Tsukuba.<\/p>\n

GR will come in two trims \u2014 the Core and Circuit editions. The latter will be exclusive to the GR Corolla’s launch year and will come with significant enhancements like a swollen hood, suede seats, bigger rear spoiler, carbon-finer hood\u00a0and dual limited-slip differentials.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Along with the pending, all-new, winged Civic Type-R, the muscled Circuit Edition should take some of the sting out of Subaru\u2019s decision\u00a0this year not to offer a WRX STI model.<\/p>\n

Both GR models will be easily distinguished from the\u00a0standard Corolla with swollen fenders, aggressive front facias, and three exhaust pipes out the rear. The GR will come with fat, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires and beefy, 14-inch brake calipers to bring them to a stop.<\/p>\n

Inside, GR Corolla will be nicely appointed with GR logo-tamped seats and\u00a0digital displays \u2014\u00a0including an eight-inch infotainment\u00a0touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. True to the Toyota brand, the hot hatch will be loaded with standard safety features, including adaptive cruise control, blind-spot-assist, auto high beams\u00a0and collision avoidance detection.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
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Manual-shift enthusiasts will be thrilled to hear a hand brake will be standard, as will hill-start control. A one-year membership in\u00a0the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) will be offered with on-track driving instruction to learn the GR’s capabilities.<\/p>\n

The new Toyota will be built at Gazoo Racing\u2019s Motomachi, Japan, facility and will go on sale stateside later this year. Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but expect the GR to start around $30,000.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Three automakers have abandoned small cars, but foreign manufacturers continue to embrace a compact market\u00a0full of first-time buyers and enthusiasts. Toyota unveiled a U.S.-focused\u00a0performance variant of its best-selling Corolla compact car Thursday night called the GR. That\u2019s pronounced Grrrrr. Based on Corolla\u2019s hatchback model, the GR will feature aggressive styling and an insane, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28996"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28997,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28996\/revisions\/28997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}