300bhp Toyota GR Corolla Revealed - The Sensible Car Has Gone Absolutely Mad

The Toyota GR Corolla is the handiwork of Gazoo Racing, hence the GR in the name. The Japanese carmaker's in-house tuning and racing division are best known for the GR Supra, GR Yaris and the Le Mans and WRC winning race cars.

Toyota GR Corolla Specs & Dimensions

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Corolla is powered by the same turbocharged 1.6-litre inline three-cylinder engine first seen on the GR Yaris.

In the GR Corolla, the engine has been updated with a valve-equipped triple exhaust muffler to bring down the back pressure and it also features larger exhaust valves, a part-machined intake and multi-oil jet piston cooling.

All these changes mean that the GR Corolla's turbocharged 1.6-litre three-pot makes 300bhp at 6,500rpm and 370Nm of peak torque between 3,000 and 5,500rpm. The engine is paired with a six-speed short throw manual gearbox which features rev matching. Power is sent to all four wheels via Toyota's 'GR-Four' four-wheel-drive setup.

The Toyota GR Corolla features McPherson struts at the front and double wishbone suspension at the rear to take care of the rough stuff. The GR Corolla also features Torsion limited slip differentials on both the front and rear axles.

Braking duties are handled by ventilated aluminium discs on all four wheels. The front brakes sport four pot callipers while the feature twin callipers. The 18-inch alloy wheels are shod with 235/40 R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.

The Toyota GR Corolla measures 4,410mm long, 1,850mm wide and 1,455mm tall. The wheelbase of the GR Corolla is 2,640mm long.

Toyota has widened the fornt and rear tracks of the GR Corolla compared to the regular car by 60mm and 85mm respectively. The front track of the GR Corolla is 1,590mm wide while the rear track measures 1,620mm.

Toyota GR Corolla Design & Features

The Toyota GR Corolla takes the regular Corolla down the rabbit hole of hot hatch design. Up at the front, the GR Corolla features a wider front bumper with a massive air intake taking up most of the visible space. The bonnet features bulges along with two nostril like vents.

Switch to the sides and the GR Yaris's profile is dominated by the extended wheel arches at both the front and the rear which play host to the gloss black 15-spoke alloy wheels. The roof (for the circuit pack) is made from carbon fibre.

The rear of the GR Corolla is dominated by the triple exhaust setup on the wider rear bumper. The rear end of the Gazoo Racing Corolla also sports a large spoiler.

Step inside the GR Corolla and you'll be greeted by a familiar looking interior. However, Gazoo Racing has made a few tweaks here and there to ramp up the hot hatch quotient of the Corolla with cloth covered sport seats up front, a leather wrapped steering wheel and aluminium pedals.

Behind the steering wheel sits a 12.3-inch driver's display which gives the person at the wheel all the information he/she needs including drive modes, and boost pressure among others. The 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support along with cloud-based navigation.

Thoughts On The Toyota GR Corolla

The Gazoo Racing Division is back to its old tricks to make Toyota's most bland cars mental. This is exactly what has happened with the GR Corolla which with 300bhp and a four wheel drive setup derived from rallying should make the hot hatch a real treat on the limit. It makes us wish that Toyota would bring it to India.