Hot Toyota GR Yaris is a sell-out – again

The Toyota GR Yaris is officially sold out in Australia until at least mid-2021 as work now begins on bringing a fresh batch of the rally-bred 200kW baby hatch to market in the second half of next year.

Toyota Australia today confirmed that both the first and second shipments of the stove-hot Toyota GR Yaris have all been spoken for.

This includes the first batch of 1000 cars that were offered at a discounted price of $39,950 drive-away and had deposits placed on them within a week of the order books opening on September 23, and a second smaller batch of 100 units priced at $44,950 drive-away.

The Japanese car importer said it hopes to secure another (hopefully larger) shipment of the three-cylinder turbo-petrol all-wheel drive hatch, which would “potentially” arrive in the second half of 2021.

In a statement, the company said “details including pricing will be announced in due course”.

This is likely to see the ticket of entry bumped up to the previously announced recommended retail price of $49,500 plus on-road costs.

Toyota’s GR (Gazoo Racing) high-performance sub-brand is proving to be a big hit with Aussie buyers, with the initial shipment of the first GR-branded model in Australia, Supra, sold out in just 22 minutes.

Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing boss Sean Hanley said the incredibly strong demand for the GR Yaris was not anticipated.

“Our significant local investment in the GR brand and our customers made this pure performance car genuinely attainable,” he said.

“In fact, GR Yaris has exceeded expectations and ignited the market.”

While all models are officially sold out, Toyota noted that there is a “small amount of remaining stock at dealerships” that will be “on-sold to customers as available”.

This is expected to be for vehicles whose owners request to have their initial pre-order deposit refunded.

As previously reported, Toyota will also offer an up-spec, track-focused version of the Toyota GR Yaris in the first half of 2021 in the form of the special-edition GR Yaris Rallye.

Just 250 units will be imported initially, but carsales understands the brand is also desperately seeking more stock of what could be a $55,000 model.

Toyota has said official pricing and details for the GR Yaris Rallye special-edition will be announced in due course.

The Rallye gets an upgraded chassis with lighter, stronger 18-inch forged alloy BBS wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, stiffer track-tuned suspension and a Torsen limited-slip differential for both the front and rear axle.

Like the standard GR Yaris, the Rallye runs the same fiery 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine (200kW/370Nm) which feeds all four wheels via a six-speed manual.

The 0-100km/h sprint takes 5.2sec and Toyota claims a top speed of 230km/h.