SPY PICS: Toyota GRMN Yaris runs rings

The mould-breaking Toyota GR Yaris has proved so popular Down Under that Toyota Australia stopped taking orders for the pint-size turbocharged all-wheel drive rally rocket a month ago as orders exceeded supply.

But that hasn’t stopped development of a lighter and more powerful version of the hard-core hot hatch wearing the GRMN badge, just as the Supra coupe will when it’s blessed with more power and less weight.

As we reported from the global launch of the GR Yaris in December 2019, the 2022 Toyota GRMN Yaris will lose weight and gain more power than the class-leading model on which it’s based.

That’s no mean feat, given the standard Toyota GR Yaris already comes with a giant-killing 200kW/370Nm 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo triple, matched to a six-speed manual gearbox and a kerb weight of under 1300kg (thanks in part to an aluminium bonnet, rear hatch and doors, plus a carbon-fibre roof), enabling it to hit 100km/h in 5.2 seconds and a 230km/h top speed.

In addition, Australia’s now-standard Rallye version adds racy upgrades offered as options in other markets, including forged 18-inch BBS alloy with sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, track-tuned suspension and a Torsen limited-slip differential at both ends.

The hotter GRMN version, which stands for Gazoo Racing Meisters of the Nurburgring, replaces a model that was never sold in Australia and remains based on the same new-generation Yaris released in 2020, but will cop all of the GR Yaris Rallye goodies including its butch three-door bodywork.

Indeed, these fresh spy shots from the Nurburgring don’t really reveal any upgrades over the standard GR Yaris, except perhaps for a lower ride height.

Back in late 2019, we asked the chief engineer of the GR Yaris, Naohiko Saito, if Gazoo Racing will produce a more powerful GRMN version of Toyota’s hottest light hatch ever.

“In the future, maybe we can,” he replied, before adding that such a car is still “under consideration”, suggesting that the wilder GRMN Yaris was yet to be approved for production.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, however, another insider working closely with Gazoo Racing told carsales exclusively that Toyota’s performance division was working not only to boost power for the GRMN version, but carve more weight from the GR Yaris.

Our source wouldn’t be drawn on specifics around the weight-saving, but it’s known that early in the Yaris GR’s development Saito-san tasked his team to conduct a feasibility study on a full carbon-fibre body for the GR Yaris.

The low-volume GRMN version could introduce some of those parts, potentially including carbon-fibre front quarter panels, composite rear windows and ultra-light alloy wheels. In addition, the delete option of the air-conditioning system and rear seat could shave as much as 100kg from the Yaris GR’s kerb weight.

Separately, another engineer told carsales that the Yaris GR’s all-new turbo triple had plenty of potential left in it, suggesting that even moderate ECU and exhaust tuning could liberate outputs of up to 225kW/400Nm.

Combined with the weight savings, that could give the road-going version of Toyota’s World Rally Championship contender a power-to-weight ratio to challenge the world’s fastest hot hatches.

Expect a 0-100km/h time of less than five seconds and a top speed of around 270km/h.

The Gazoo Racing insider said chassis tuning, which is exactly what appears to be going on in these pics, could also involve the fitment of braces that have already been developed as Japan-only dealer-fit accessories.

When asked if Gazoo Racing would attempt to set a new compact-car lap record at the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife, Saito replied: “Maybe we will publish a lap.”

For the record, that title is now held by the new Audi RS 3 at 7:40.75, which betters the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R’s front-drive production car mark of 7:45.39 set in April 2019.