All-wheel drive Toyota GR-4 Yaris previewed

Toyota has posted its first video tease of the forthcoming Toyota GR-4 Yaris hot hatch ahead of its reveal in the coming weeks.

Originally, the Japanese car-maker had planned to pull the drapes off its GR-4 Yaris at Rally Australia on November 17, until devastating NSW bushfires saw the whole event cancelled.

Featuring wide flared fenders, an aggressive body kit, motorsport-inspired lightweight rims and even large mudflaps, the car in this first official video proves the Toyota Yaris GR-4 will look like a real rally refugee.

Better still, pump up the volume on the video and the pint-sized GR-4 Yaris even sounds like it's ready to attack the Rally of Monte Carlo, with a slightly coarse deep burble, mimicking the sound of the Group A racer's 280kW-plus 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder.

For the road car, we expect power to be wound back down to around 200kW but, as the video proves, it will keep its all-wheel drive.

To cope with all that power, and to add an extra pair of driven rear wheels, huge engineering changes have been introduced to the donor model -- the all-new Yaris revealed in October.

The first is the ditching of its torsion beam rear suspension for a more sophisticated multi-link set-up.

The next is bespoke springs and dampers and bigger brakes, before shoehorning in the 1.6-litre turbo.

Helping homologate changes for the real WRC rally car, the road car will also feature a big aero package and substantially wider front and rear wheel tracks.

Unlike the previous limited-edition GRMN Yaris hot hatch that paved the way for the Yaris GR-4, Toyota says it has committed to making an incredible 25,000 of its latest hot hatch in a single year.

When it goes on sale following the new Yaris next year, the GR-4 will certainly be among the most extreme hot hatches on sale. Pricing in the UK has been tipped to kick off at around £30,000 ($A57,000), but there's no word on how much it will cost when it lands Down Under.