Akio Toyoda is as proud as a peacock of his racing branch. For him, the people behind the wheel are the greatest heroes. To express his gratitude to rally champions Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä, he has a special edition of the Toyota GR Yaris built for each driver. The updated version of the hot hatch is of course used for this.
The dark gray Yaris was put together by Ogier. The other is from Rovanperä, who reflects the colors of his helmet in the color scheme. Engine-wise, the rally drivers must leave their special versions as they are. The power of the 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbo engine therefore remains 280 hp and the torque 390 Nm. Both rally drivers opt for the version with a manual gearbox; They already play enough pinball at work.
Special driving modes in the Toyota GR Yaris of the rally champions
The GR Yaris Ogier Edition and Rovanperä Edition are equipped with driving modes selected by the drivers. In Ogier’s version you can use Seb mode as a disguised drift mode. The limited slip differential is adjusted in such a way that ‘the rear of the car can break away with relative ease’. Well, yes. You can also change the setting from normal to Morizo using the dial. The more Morizo – Akio Toyoda’s racing pseudonym – the more the GR Yaris is set for ‘consistent race times’.
The driving modes in the Rovanperä Edition are even more intense. In Kalle mode, the rear breaks out strongly when entering the corner and the nose must be precisely positioned with the accelerator pedal. In addition, the dial in this case goes from normal to a Donut mode, where extra torque is sent to the rear wheels to, indeed, make donuts easier.
Adjustable aero
Another special element of the Rovanperä Edition is the rear spoiler. In Ogier’s version it is a fixed wing, but in the other limited edition the spoiler is adjustable. You will also find the same roof spoiler on the GRMN version of the Yaris.
100 of each version are built. Toyota says that prices for the Netherlands will be announced later. Just assuming that anyone in our corner of the world even gets the chance to buy one.