Yaris Hatchback

Make
Toyota
Segment
Hatchback

This is our best look yet at Toyota's ss upcoming Yaris hot hatch dubbed the GR-4. This won't be just any hot hatch, but rather one with standard all-wheel drive and wearing mud flaps and large fender flares. It's rally-inspired, after all. Toyota was originally set to reveal the Yaris GR-4 earlier this month in Australia but the event was canceled due to the tragic and destructive wildfires. The newly released video, featured below, does not offer a new launch date but we expect it to be very soon, perhaps even this weekend. It will surely debut within the next month or so, at the latest.

What the video does show is Toyota's Master Driver "Morizo" putting the pint-sized hot hatch through its final paces. Just who is this "Morizo"? That's simply a pseudonym for none other than Toyota CEO himself Akio Toyoda. He's the one in the driver's seat handling the "final tests."

Think of the Yaris GR-4 as the successor to the previous-generation and limited production Yaris GRMN, shown below. The GR-4 moniker supposedly stands for four-wheel drive, thus bringing it line with the Yaris WRC Toyota has taken rally racing since 2017. Toyota has not confirmed what will be under the hood, but an earlier report suggests it will be a turbocharged three-cylinder. Another possibility is a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder used in the WRC R5 class and all Japan Rally Championship. Chances are Toyota will make the Yaris GR-4 a member of the Yaris lineup as opposed to making it limited production.

There's just one big issue we have: it won't come to the US. Why? Because the Yaris hatchback sold here is based on the Mazda2 which, ironically, is not sold here. Judging by the way the Yaris GR-4 sounds it's clear Toyota Gazoo Racing has invested considerable time, energy, and money here. If Akio Toyoda himself is behind the wheel and the final product receives his blessing, then Toyota could have a real hit on its hands. Stay tuned.