Toyota

Toyota Yaris GR Hatch 2020

2020

The 2020 Toyota GR Yaris is a three-door performance hatchback developed by Toyota GAZOO Racing with an unusual priority: bringing rally experience into a production road car. Revealed at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January 2020, it uses a dedicated body structure, the GR-FOUR all-wheel-drive system and a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine. With 261 DIN hp, 360 Nm of torque and a quoted kerb weight of 1,280 kg, it was aimed at drivers seeking involvement rather than the everyday practicality normally associated with a Yaris. Development involved Tommi Mäkinen Racing as well as Toyota’s World Rally Championship teams. The result was a model positioned apart from the regular Yaris range, closer in concept to a competition car adapted for road use than to a conventional hot version of a city car.

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History

The GR Yaris project grew from Toyota’s intention to use motorsport as a direct source of road-car development. Toyota GAZOO Racing revealed the model in January 2020 and described it as a homologation vehicle intended to support future rally activity. It was not simply a standard Yaris fitted with a more powerful engine. Its platform combined the front section of the GA-B architecture used by the fourth-generation Yaris with a rear section derived from the GA-C platform, creating the space needed for all-wheel drive and a more performance-focused suspension layout.

Series production began on 26 August 2020 at Toyota’s Motomachi plant in Japan, on a dedicated production line known as the GR Factory. Toyota introduced specialised assembly methods and relied heavily on highly skilled technicians to achieve the required body rigidity and build accuracy. Japanese sales started on 4 September 2020, while first European deliveries were scheduled for late 2020 or early 2021. The model represented Toyota’s return to a sports car developed around competition experience, with its engineering direction shaped by rallying rather than by the normal evolution of a small hatchback.

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Technical data

Yaris GR Hatch is presented here with its key technical data: 68 - 109 ch, 92 - 140 Nm, 6.4 - 11 s, 175 km/h. The recorded setup is Traction / CVT.

Power

68 - 109 ch

Torque

92 - 140 Nm

0-100 km/h

6.4 - 11 s

Top speed

175 km/h

Displacement

996 - 1499 cm3

Weight

1040 - 1145 kg

Dimensions

4115 x 1699 x 1476 mm

Consumption

4.9 - 6.7 L/100 km

Fuel types

Essence

Gearboxes

CVT, Automatique, 6 rapports, Manuelle, 6 rapports

Drivetrain

Traction

Matched engine options
Version	Power	Torque	Gearbox	Drivetrain
1.2L CVT FWD (86 HP)	84 ch	108 Nm	CVT	Traction
1.5L 6AT (106 HP)	105 ch	140 Nm	Automatique, 6 rapports	Traction
1.0L CVT (69 HP)	68 ch	92 Nm	CVT	Traction
1.5L 6MT (111 HP)	109 ch	136 Nm	Manuelle, 6 rapports	Traction
1.5L eCVT (116 HP)	90 ch	120 Nm	CVT	Traction

1.2L CVT FWD (86 HP)

Power: 84 ch
Torque: 108 Nm
Gearbox: CVT
Drivetrain: Traction

1.5L 6AT (106 HP)

Power: 105 ch
Torque: 140 Nm
Gearbox: Automatique, 6 rapports
Drivetrain: Traction

1.0L CVT (69 HP)

Power: 68 ch
Torque: 92 Nm
Gearbox: CVT
Drivetrain: Traction

1.5L 6MT (111 HP)

Power: 109 ch
Torque: 136 Nm
Gearbox: Manuelle, 6 rapports
Drivetrain: Traction

1.5L eCVT (116 HP)

Power: 90 ch
Torque: 120 Nm
Gearbox: CVT
Drivetrain: Traction

Source: CarData.wiki

Anecdotes

Akio Toyoda, then Toyota’s president and known in competition as Morizo, took a personal interest in the project. Toyota described the GR Yaris as following a reversed development philosophy: begin with a car shaped by motorsport requirements, then make it suitable for the road. The model also revived an important part of Toyota’s sporting history, representing the company’s first rally homologation model since production of the Celica GT-FOUR ended in 1999.

Production

Production of the 2020 GR Yaris began on 26 August 2020 at Toyota’s Motomachi plant in Toyota City, Japan. Toyota created a dedicated line known as the GR Factory, using assembly methods suited to relatively low-volume, multi-type production. The body incorporated a significant amount of manual work and specific quality checks intended to preserve the rigidity and accuracy required by a performance car.

Toyota announced that the first European deliveries would take place in November 2020, with early reservations receiving priority. The official sources consulted confirm the production start and the special manufacturing process, but they do not provide a definitive worldwide production total for 2020. A production figure should therefore not be assigned to this vehicle without identifying the relevant market and source. The GR Factory description is better supported than claims about a precise global build number.

Press reception

The 2020 GR Yaris received an especially strong response from specialist automotive media. Reviews commonly praised its energetic engine, low weight, all-wheel-drive traction and driving character, which felt closer to a rally car than to a conventional sporty city hatchback. Autocar selected it among its notable cars of 2020, while Top Gear named it Hot Hatch of the Year in its 2020 awards. Reviewers also identified compromises created by its focused design, including limited rear-seat space and a level of noise or ride comfort that was less broadly appealing than a standard Yaris. Its positive reception was therefore driven primarily by character and dynamic ability rather than by maximum practicality.

Evolution

The GR Yaris diverged sharply from the regular Yaris from the beginning. A forged carbon-fibre composite roof, aluminium body panels and a dedicated structure helped reduce weight, while moving the engine further rearward in the engine bay contributed to weight distribution. The rear double-wishbone suspension and GR-FOUR all-wheel-drive system were also engineered for demands beyond those of a conventional city hatchback.

For 2020, Toyota built the car around a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, a six-speed manual gearbox and an all-wheel-drive system able to vary torque distribution through several selectable modes. Later members of the GR Yaris family introduced more power and, eventually, an automatic transmission, but those developments do not describe the original 2020 specification. The first model therefore remains defined by its relatively light body, manual control and rally-oriented mechanical layout.

Variants

The 2020 GR Yaris range varied by market. In Japan, Toyota announced three main versions: the RZ, the core performance model using the full sporting powertrain; the RS, a more accessible front-wheel-drive version with a 1.5-litre engine; and the RC, intended as a competition-oriented base specification. In Europe, the car was generally sold as a standard version and with a Circuit Pack, depending on the country and local equipment structure.

The Circuit Pack could include hardware aimed at performance driving, including Torsen limited-slip differentials and specific chassis equipment. These names should not be applied identically to every imported car, because equipment, tyres and available options varied by region. The 2020 GR Yaris therefore describes a group of related market configurations rather than one completely uniform global trim. The defining features remained the dedicated three-door body, turbocharged engine, manual gearbox and GR-FOUR all-wheel drive on the main performance versions.

References

New Toyota GR Yaris: Forged in the heat of World Rally competitionToyota Europe
Supports the development history, rally homologation purpose, platform, engine, transmission, GR-FOUR system and original technical specifications.
GR Yaris Production Has StartedToyota Europe
Supports the 26 August 2020 production start, Motomachi plant, GR Factory and 1,280 kg specification.
Toyota Celebrates Launch of New GR Yaris in Japan with Virtual EventToyota Global Newsroom
Supports the Japanese launch date, RZ, RS and RC variants, GR Factory and Toyota's stated development philosophy.
Toyota GR Yaris Technical SpecificationsToyota UK
Supports the three-cylinder engine, 261 DIN hp, 360 Nm, six-speed manual gearbox, GR-Four system and three-door hatchback description.
Autocar writers' cars of 2020: Toyota GR YarisAutocar
Supports the favourable 2020 press reception and the model's assessment as a highly engaging driver's car.
2020 TopGear.com AwardsTop Gear
Supports the Hot Hatch of the Year award received by the Toyota GR Yaris in 2020.
https://global.toyota/en/mobility/toyota-brand/gallery/yaris.htmlglobal.toyota
Source found by OpenAI web search for this vehicle page.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a32231048/2020-toyota-yaris-hatchback-drive/caranddriver.com
Source found by OpenAI web search for this vehicle page.