Last month, we told you about Toyota’s new Yaris WRC car, with the giant, aircraft carrier wing, and intimated that the company will probably make a hot hatch version for the road. Now we have a few more details thanks to AutoExpress and Toyota’s Gazoo Racing. The new hatch will debut at the Geneva auto show in March, but no word on what it’ll be called or whether we’ll see it here in the States. We shot Toyota an email, and we’ll update if we hear back.
The Yaris-whatever gets stylized front and rear bumpers, new graphics that ape the rally car and a decent-size spoiler on the roof. We’re a little disappointed it doesn’t have the rally car wing, but we suppose that would just be overkill.
We’ll get our first in-person look at the Yaris in March.
The hot Yaris will be developed by the same team that created the GT86, according to AutoExpress. Last month, Toyota said that its Motorsport Unit Development and Sports Vehicle Management Divisions will merge into a Toyota Gazoo Racing Development Division.
At 210 hp, the hatch would sit even with the VW GTI, slightly ahead of the last Civic Si — we don’t know the new output yet — and a step behind the Ford Focus ST. Still, once this car is on the streets, the company will have two enthusiast-approved vehicles for purchase, five if you count the TRD truck trio. Might we be on the cusp of a new era of Toyota performance? We certainly hope so. We’ll find out more in the coming months.