rlex Posted February 7, 2021 Posted February 7, 2021 261 horsepower, a manual gearbox and all-wheel drive for a city car. The GR Yaris is probably the ultimate sports car of our time. And perhaps the ultimate “rally car” of our era. The machine opposite had a thousand reasons for not seeing the light of day. Think about increasingly stringent emissions standards. At the cost of developing a new engine. Or the relaxation of homologation constraints in rallying by 2022. However, in some Japanese office, Mr. Akio Toyoda, CEO of the automotive giant, gave the green light to the production of 25,000 copies of this heir to the Lancia Delta HF, Ford Escort Cosworth, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru Impreza GT and other Toyota Celica GT-Four. The only version of the Yaris with 3-doors , this GR only shares three exterior elements with its general public version: the optics, the mirrors and the “shark” antenna closing the roof. In molded carbon, it is also lowered by 9 cm in its rear part , reducing drag and clearing the rear spoiler. The difference with the (excellent) 116h is such that this Yaris GR is assembled in Motomashi, Japan, rather than in Valenciennes. The same production line once gave birth to the Lexus LFA, a breathtakingly sounding V10 supercar. SUMMARY Notice Technical sheet Unlike many current pseudo-sports, the interior of the machine is more ... normal . Unsurprisingly, we find the dashboard of the Yaris hybrid. The steering wheel and headrests bear the words “Gazoo Racing” and a small plate located on the central console certifies the origin of the machine. Pleasant to the eye and to the touch, the semi-bucket seats do not offer sufficient lateral supportwith regard to the lateral Gs that the passengers can collect. At the front, the driver and his co-driver are also sitting a bit high. Difficult to access, the rear seats are penalized by the falling pavilion: plan for stiff necks for anyone measuring more than 1.70 meters, even if the knees have an honorable space. With its sluggishness and 16-BIT console graphics, the infotainment screen isn't this Yaris' strong point either. Disclosure: This is the last nasty remark in this article. Toyota GR Yaris Our “Premium Pack” version provides some comfort equipment: head-up display, integrated GPS, JBL audio system and parking radar. The “Track” version - soon to be tested in Auto Moto - cuts off this assistance but adds arguments in the eyes of circuit enthusiasts: a Torsen limited-slip differential, a reinforced anti-roll bar and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. We will be satisfied here with a harder Dunlop SP Sport mount. Strangely, the trunk tells us more than the interior about the purpose of this car. As in a race car, the battery is placed at the stern, alongside the repair kit and the triangle. This reduces the cargo volume to 174 liters , a little more than a cabin suitcase. Tailgate open, we see above all what effort has been made on the mass of the machine: linings and plastics are reduced to what is strictly necessary. Aluminum doors and hood or frameless windows reduce the weight to 1,280 kg when dry. Or less than a Lotus Evora. The Renault Mégane RS weighs 150 kg more than the GR. The addition is three quintals for a Ford Focus RS. The front end is always on target From the first corner, the pilot is overwhelmed. With less than 4 meters in length and its wheels located at all four corners, the GR Yaris turns effortlessly. First thanks to precise and straightforward management, with its 2.36 lock-to-lock turns. Electric assistance does not interfere with information coming from a front axle which is always on target. A slightly dry foot lift at the start of a curve allows the machine to turn as naturally as possible. And when a pin shows up, the rider can pull on the good old handbrake. This blocks the rear axle and makes it possible to pivot like the Ogier-Ingrassia crew in a lace of Monte-Carlo. Abundantly reinforced, the hull allows the MacPherson combo up front - reinforced double wishbones at the rear to work calmly. The Yaris maintains an acceptable level of comfort on the backs of donkeys and cuts out any idea of body roll in curves at high speed . The electronically controlled all-wheel drive also optimizes its trajectory. The driving modes are chosen via a selector placed at the bottom of the central console, next to a 12-volt outlet. If you place the control on "normal", 60% of the torque goes to the front axle and 40% goes to the rear axle. The distribution evolves to 50/50 in track mode and 30/70 in sport mode. On the road and in the dry, the difference is only a grain of salt.
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