In just a few short hours, we’ll all be treated to the full, official reveal of the upcoming Toyota GR Corolla. Finally, our questions about horsepower, design, and drivetrain will all be answered. Will its fender flares live up to the standard set by the GR Yaris? Soon, we’ll know every— hang on, I’m getting word in my earpiece that all of this information leaked online this morning. Verdict: The GR Corolla sounds incredible.
A staging page on Toyota’s website, seemingly mistakenly made public, revealed all the specs (as well as a few photos) of the GR Corolla this morning. The page itself has since been taken down, but it’s archived in its entirety here. It states that the upcoming GR Corolla will make an even 300 horsepower, paired with 273 lb-ft of torque, all of which will make it to the wheels through Toyota’s GR-FOUR all-wheel-drive system. The page even included a video of the GR Corolla’s exhaust note, which is pretty good.
The car retains the general hatchback shape of the basic Corolla but gains the rally-inspired widebody that Toyota had previously teased. The front fenders have the same basic shape as the GR86, and the rears have a Supra quality to them. There’s no mistaking the parentage of this hot hatch.
The GR-FOUR system defaults to a 50/50 front-rear power split, though it can put up to 70 percent of power to the rear when needed. Toyota claims a “circuit-tuned suspension,” which sounds more roadgoing than rally, and Torsen limited-slip differentials front and rear on Launch Edition cars.
The Launch Edition doesn’t stop there, however. Unique wheels, a vented hood, and a forged carbon fiber roof will all be making an appearance on those first cars. Toyota hasn’t mentioned how many will be produced, but the first GR Corollas should hit dealers this fall.
The biggest question about the GR Corolla — its price — still has yet to be answered. For that, it seems we’ll have to wait until tonight’s livestream. As for the question of whether it can fill the void left by the missing STI, well:
It certainly seems that way.
Edit 3/31/2022 12:05 PM ET: Toyota has made the video of the GR Corolla’s sound, embedded in this page, private on YouTube. Since that’s different from taking the video down completely, we are leaving it embedded in the page so it can be viewed once the video is relisted.