Toyota will build a hot hatch version of the Yaris, its first hot hatch in a generation, inspired by its return to the World Rally Championship.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Toyota’s motorsport wing, Gazoo Racing, is considering developing a whole new sub-brand for high performance cars following its WRC re-entry.
A post on Toyota’s official blog yesterday unveiled the first look at the upcoming Yaris hot hatch, likely to be called the Yaris Gazoo, via a design sketch.
Compared against the regular Yaris, the hot version gets many more sporty features, including a rally-style aerodynamic body kit, larger brakes and wheels plus a sharp-looking paint scheme.
The Yaris hot hatch is likely to be based on the facelifted version which is due next year, so you can expect it to make its official debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in October.
It’s still unclear what specification the car will have, but it’s possible that it could feature the same 1.5-litre turbo engine that’s in the C-HR crossover.
Producing up to 180bhp, that would mean the Yaris would directly rival the likes of the Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Polo GTi, both of which form the basis of two of Toyota’s rival WRC cars.
Rally rules no longer require manufacturers to build road-going homologation versions of their competition cars, but Toyota sees the WRC as good publicity for its new performance cars.
