Toyota puts the 212 CV new Yaris GRMN to the test on the Nürburgring circuit

With the launch of the Yaris GRMN, Toyota will finally have a version with a genuinely sporty character in its city car range, something many driving enthusiasts had been missing from the Japanese manufacturer.

Under the bonnet of this Yaris GRMN lies a 1.8 Dual VVT-iE engine producing 212 CV, specially prepared for this model using the manufacturer’s own designs developed for competition, which have been tuned and fine-tuned with the collaboration of the technical staff of Toyota Gazoo Racing — the company’s motorsport division — on the legendary Nordschleife track at the Nürburgring.

The Yaris GRMN reaches a top speed of 230 km/h with a 0-100 km/h acceleration of just 6.3 seconds, figures that are more than impressive for a vehicle of its size, power and weight, and high performance levels that ensure, in addition to a great driving experience, very high performance as well as first-class sporty responsiveness. Weighing only 1,135 kg, the new Yaris GRMN has a power-to-weight ratio of 5.35 CV per kg.

Both the exterior and interior design of the model are shaped by the influence of the Yaris’s return to the World Rally Championship (WRC). The brand’s executives asked their European teams to develop both the interior and exterior of the Yaris GRMN, while their Japanese counterparts did the same with the car’s chassis and braking system. In the end, with the projects combined, the production of this attractive sporty version will take place at the brand’s factory in Valenciennes (France).

Available exclusively on the three-door body, this Yaris GRMN will be equipped with 17-inch BBS multi-spoke alloy wheels, a black fin-type rear spoiler and a specific Yaris GRMN exhaust with a trapezoidal outlet positioned centrally, producing a distinctive and spectacularly sporty sound. It also features exclusive bumper designs and a large rear diffuser.

Its sportiness is evident as soon as you open the door and step inside

The seats, designed by Toyota Boshoku — also responsible for the seat design in the Lexus LCA — are bucket-type and feature GAZOO Racing colours: black for the main surface and red and white for the upholstery stitching. The trimmed steering wheel, with a reduced diameter, is the same as that fitted to the sports car Toyota GT86. On it, a central line marked in red helps the driver steer the Yaris GRMN precisely along the road. The pedal set and instrument cluster are also specific to this version. The former comes in aluminium finish and the latter clearly reflects the sporty character of the model. The steering wheel, seats, instrumentation, boot lid and brake caliper calipers are marked with the Toyota Gazoo Racing logo.

The aforementioned 1.8 Dual VVT-iE 212 CV four-cylinder inline engine uses a Magnusson Eaton rotor-type supercharger, supported by a water-cooled intercooler, which makes the Yaris GRMN the only sporty city car fitted with a supercharged engine. A six-speed manual gearbox is responsible for delivering the power to the front axle.

The engineers at Toyota Gazoo have reinforced the chassis of the Yaris GRMN with additional brackets, adding an extra reinforcement bar between the front suspension towers and a larger-diameter anti-roll bar on that same axle to ensure maximum chassis rigidity. With MacPherson front suspension and a torsion beam rear axle, this Yaris GRMN is fitted with specific dampers developed by Sachs Performance. A mechanical Torsen-type differential helps increase traction and responsiveness at high speed.

To properly control the potential of its mechanicals, Toyota has equipped the Yaris GRMN with a high-performance braking system consisting of oversized ventilated discs (275 mm) and four-piston calipers on the front axle, hidden behind the high-performance Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tyres in size 205/45 R17 that come as standard.

Technical specifications of this car

HatchbackToyota Yaris9 versions · from 24,550 €