The GR Factory in Motomachi, Japan is also the facility where legendary Toyota cars like the Lexus LFA and Supra A80 was produced and now the soon to be launched GR Corolla and GR Yaris were assembled.
The smaller and lighter GR Yaris arrived in December 2020 with a price tag of RM299,000 and soon after it was being flipped for RM330 to RM340k.
The GR Yaris was powered by a 1.6-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine capable of 261 PS @ 6,500 rpm and 360 Nm of torque @3000-4600 rpm mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.
Now with the GR Corolla just months away from its Malaysian launch, the possible selling price might be slightly more than the GR Yaris flipped price. Why? Well, let us explain.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing brought together highly skilled technicians from throughout the company to work on the GR Corolla. This team not only serves to assemble every GR Corolla but also helps to enhance the technical skills of other workers across Toyota facilities when learning is shared.
Bookings for the GR Corolla opened in Malaysia in May 2022 and in just a few weeks all allocated units were taken up. No selling price has been disclosed but a quick guess suggests a price between RM348,000 to RM368,000 as the GR Corolla (high specification) is priced at USD42,900 in North America (RM195,000) before adding our local Malaysian duties for an imported Japanese car.
For GR Corolla, Toyota engineers took the same turbocharged G16E-GTS power-plant used in the globally sold out GR Yaris and boosted its output for performance you will feel. Thanks to a three-pipe exhaust system, GR Corolla produces 300hp and a satisfying exhaust note without any augmented engine noise.
For the pure joy of its rumble, the center pipe is open while idling and up to 20 mph, where it will then close. At 4,500 RPM’s the pipe reopens, reducing exhaust back-pressure for powerful acceleration.
The G16E also benefits from motorsport technologies that maximize performance, including multi-oil jet piston cooling, large-diameter exhaust valves and a part-machined intake port.
Compact and lightweight, the DOHC 12-valve engine features a single-scroll ball-bearing turbo and is matched to a 6-speed intelligent Manual Transmission (iMT) with rev-matching engineered to accommodate high torque levels.
The turbocharger is integrated in the exhaust manifold, reducing weight, while control of waste-gate bypass gases is used to improve the catalyst’s warm-up efficiency.
Combustion is fed by Toyota’s D-4S direct and port fuel injection system, which operates at high pressure for maximum fuel dispersion.
