Toyota Yaris GRMN: Here is the Supercharged Micro Hot Hatch We Don’t Yet Have
The name may be a mouthful, but the performance is a handful.
This is the Toyota Yaris GRMN. If the name doesn’t ring a bell you aren’t alone. GRMN is an acronym for “Gazoo Racing tuned by the Meisters of the Nurburgring,” a phrase almost as wacky as the car itself. Gazoo Racing, of course, is Toyota’s international racing division, which does awesome stuff like live at the Nurburgring and build race cars. It really is our kind of organization.
However, let’s get back to the little Yaris GRMN.
Right now it’s a European-only offering from Toyota. First off, the camouflage isn’t really necessary, as the car has already been unveiled to the public. We have the details on it, and it sounds like a winner.
The GRMN is powered by 1.8-liter, inline-four cylinder engine with Dual VVT-i, that is supercharged. It produces 205 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. That blown four-banger only has to motive 2,500lbs of mass, making for a quick little micro hot hatch. The 0-60 sprint happens in about 6.5 seconds.
The little Yaris earns the “N” in it’s nameplate from its extensive testing at the Nurburgring. All of that track time helped Toyota and Gazoo Racing with the suspension and chassis tweaks. Stiffer springs bring the ride height down and are paired with Sachs dampers. Note the 17″ BBS wheels, cool in their own right, but they hide monster brakes for a little car. Upgraded disc brakes are squeezed by 4-piston calipers. Additional chassis bracing has also been added to reduce flex. A larger anti-roll bar is also added into the mix to reduce front-end roll and keep those front tires in contact with the pavement. Crucially, and we can’t state this enough, the GRMN has a Torsen limited-slip differential. The LSD will help put the power down when coming out of corners.
The interior gets upgrades, as well, courtesy of its stablemate, the GT86. Check out the seats and pedal assemblies. Also, we spy some common switch gear shared with the 86. Yours for £26,295. This sounds like an awesome track day-ready daily driver. The Fiesta ST appears to be leaving the United States marketplace. With no immediate replacement confirmed, it seems like an excellent time for Toyota to swoop in and claim the market. So, Toyota, what’s the hold up?
