Toyota GR Corolla Unveiled - 300HP, AWD, Carbon Roof, Dual LSD - Civic Type R Killer?

After many teasers and rumours, Toyota has finally unveiled the GR Corolla - and yes it will probably make its way to Malaysia.

Rumours of the GR Corolla have been sweeping across the internet for nearly half a decade now, and today, we finally get to meet Toyota's answer to the Honda Civic Type R, Volkswagen Golf R and performance cars alike.

Highlights

Unveiled virtually today, Toyota has given its hatchback the GR(Gazoo Racing) treatment which now sees it being equipped with a powerful 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine, all-wheel-drive, triple exhausts (large oval tailpipe in the middle) and an aggressively wide body kit.

Engine

As predicted, the GR Corolla has inherited its little brother's(GR Yaris) G16-E three-cylinder turbocharged engine, which gives it 300hp and 370Nm of torque. For those who know the GR Yaris, you will notice that there is a power increase in the GR Corolla, and that's done to compensate for the GR Corolla's heavier weight. Nonetheless, it's still impressive that the engine can push out 100hp per cylinder.

Drivetrain

Surprisingly, Toyota has said that the GR Corolla will only be available with a 6-speed manual transmission which will help distribute power to all four wheels via its rally-bred GR-Four all-wheel-drive system. 

Exterior

As for the exterior, the GR Corolla features wide rally-inspired fenders, a huge rectangular lower grille and functional vertical corner air inlets at the front and triple exhausts at the rear. It also comes with 18-inch wheels and 14-inch slotted brake rotors.

Interior

On the inside, the GR Corolla gets a 12.3-inch race-inspired meter cluster, 8-inch infotainment screen, JBL audio and five seats - which at the rear can be folded down to help with the carrying of track tyres.

Safety

Although it is a performance hatchback, Toyota is all about safety too, so they have included the GR Corolla with Toyota's latest suite of safety systems, the TSS 3.0(Toyota Safety Sense).

This gives the GR Corolla advanced safety features such as:

• Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection
• Dynamic Radar Cruise Control
• Lane Departure Alert
• Automatic High Beams
• Lane Tracing Assist
• Road Sign Assist

GR Corolla Circuit Edition

Just before the unveiling ended, Toyota sprung up a surprise by introducing an extra spicy GR Corolla Circuit Edition which will only be available throughout 2023. 

The major differences between it and the regular GR Corolla( GR Corolla Core) include:

• Forged carbon fibre roof
• Rear spoiler
• Vented aluminium bonnet
• GRFour dual LSD
• Brake callipers with GR logo
• Morizo signed shift knob (Morizo being the alias Akio Toyoda when he races)

Availability

Toyota said the GR Corolla will be making its way across the world so perhaps we will get the spiced up Corolla hatch in Malaysia in the near future. Since Malaysia got the GR Yaris, it's not such a far-fetched idea that the GR Corolla will make its way to our shores.

Prices of the GR Corolla and its Circuit Edition brother has yet to be announced.