The chief editor asked me if I want to drive a Toyota Yaris.
Not really. It's a car for the elderly.
But a Yaris with 209 hp is okay.
This is something special.
Let me tell you the origin of this car, because it has a story.
Normally you can buy a Toyota Yaris with a max of a little over 100 hp.
It's not a car made for fast driving, but the people at Lexus and Toyota have an opinion now.
It should be more fun. That's why they do something crazy at times.
Two years ago Toyota decided to do WRC with the Yaris.
That one is more powerful than the car we're driving now. It has nearly 400 hp.
If you're going to do that, the marketing department wants something special for the customers as well.
That's why they looked at what they could build.
They contacted their people who know something about the Yaris and fun stuff.
They asked for cases to see the cool things they can build that don't cost too much.
They looked at the engines etc.
In the end, a Belgian man had the best idea.
That man is a Yaris product specialist and now for Gazoo Racing too.
That's what "GR" in GRMN stands for. I'll get back to the "MN" later.
That man is called Stein Peters.
His idea for this car was to use the 1.8 engine combined with a Land Cruiser intake manifold.
The fuel pump comes from the Lexus IS F. All these parts make this fun package.
The result, on paper, is good. This car has a supercharged 1.8-liter engine. That's special.
I'll tell you more about that later. With supercharger it has 209 hp and 250 Nm (184 lb ft) torque.
That's why it does 0-100 kph (62 mph) in 6.3 seconds, if you're good with a MT.
The top speed is limited to 230 kph (143 mph).
That's a Yaris Casper wants to try.
This Yaris is a limited edition. All have been sold already, so the price doesn't matter.
46,500 euros in the Netherlands. That's because of taxes and CO2 fines.
It's an expensive car compared to a Clio RS or 208 GTI.
However, only a few will be built. 600 in total; 200 for Japan and 400 for Europe.
Of the 400 in Europe is 1/3 right-hand drive for the English market.
Because it's a limited edition, it was sold out within 3 days.
You could sign up on a special Toyota website.
They didn't look at their most important costumers who want to store the car in a garage.
Instead, the first who signed up were allowed to buy one.
5 have been sold in the Netherlands, so you won't see one often.
That's a shame. Let me explain what this project is for.
Gazoo Racing will be the new performance brand of Toyota.
Audi has S and RS, BMW has M, and Toyota will have Gazoo Racing.
They will have two lines: Gazoo Racing and Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring (GRMN).
Maybe the Japanese shouldn't come up with brand names.
That's what they're going to do. The Masters of Nürburgring (GRMN) line will be the exclusive one.
They'll continue doing that. There will be other models.
These'll be limited edition too. The level below that will be Gazoo Racing (GR).
That one will be freely available with an unlimited production.
This car has to start it all for the European market.
There are varieties in Asia, but this is the first model with the GR or GRMN logo in Europe.
That's remarkable, because the Yaris is almost done here. There'll be a new one.
This may be a nice goodbye model.
Enough about that. Let's talk about the handling.
It's fun. Keep going, keep going, keep going, and brake for the corner.
That's a shame. This was only 6,500 rpm. It could've been 500 more.
Another fun thing to mention is that the pedals are in the right position for easy heel-and-toe,
for those who like that and can do it.
The 1.8 has a supercharger, not a turbo. That makes it different from many other engines.
What makes a supercharger different compared to a turbo is, in short...
A supercharger sits on top of the intake manifold to make sure extra air gets into the engine.
It's connected with the crankshaft through a belt.
The supercharger spins faster at higher rpm and more air goes in.
You have to keep the rpm high to get the power, but that makes it fun.
It sort of feels like a naturally aspirated engine. Sort of, because it's not true.
This car has another fun thing: a differential lock between the front wheels.
It's a Torsen differential.
That means a little wheelspin on your inner front wheel, but it's limited.
There will always be power on the outer wheel, the with grip.
You can always accelerate in a corner. You're not smoking the inner front tire.
That's a fine recipe.
The fun thing is that on power you feel it pull to the inside line.
It feels a bit counterintuitive sometimes.
What if you lose grip? You accelerate and the front tightens the line. That's fun.
The looks. It can be recognized by the stickers. I think all are white and have these stickers.
There can be no doubt about what car you're dealing with.
You can also tell by the rims. They're nice BBS rims, but each is 1.5 kg lighter. That's nice.
The brakes are different too. It has bigger calipers.
The rear brake discs are bigger than those up front. The difference is only a few millimeters.
The front discs are ventilated, though.
It also has bigger calipers with 4 pistons for better brake power modulation.
I can affirm, because the brakes feel great. We're driving on mountain roads.
We're going downhill and brake hard. It doesn't matter. It's fine.
Kudos for the work done.
It can also be recognized by its big rear spoiler and the more aggressive front splitter.
The interior is stock Yaris. The seat is a bit high.
That's a shame, but it's not as high as I feared from a Yaris.
It has good bucket seats that offer good support.
They're taken from a Japanese Toyota model we don't have in Europe. The seats are great.
That's about it for the interior. The steering wheel comes from the GT86.
It says "GR". All cars have been sold to the connoisseurs, the real fans of the brand.
However, Toyota didn't give the freedom to...
"Those people know they're buying a performance model, so it doesn't need high safety margins."
No. Everything had to stay in one piece and be safe.
You'd expect a neutral car, understeering when you're going too fast.
That's not true. The rear is light.
I think engineers said they made it safe while winking at each other.
The rear does slide a bit when entering a corner fast. That's fun. It's easier to plant the car.
What else is there to say? The exhaust is a fun one.
I'll let Martijn film under the rear bumper.
The exhaust seems to go to the normal spot.
The muffler sits on the right, but a pipe turns to the middle to have the tip in the center. That's fun.
It sounds tame from the inside. It sounds good from the outside.
That's a shame. It's because there's been an event with pre-production models.
Journalists said it was too loud.
They were probably journalists with gray hair.
They were invited to look at a Yaris, not the performance version.
They spoiled the fun, although it doesn't sound bad.
It sounds feistier from the outside than it does on the inside.
I think it should make more noise inside the car. It would be fun for the experience.
It's one of the few flaws of a very fun car.
It's so much fun that cameraman Martijn, who's a Mégane RS fan, thinks this size is more fun.
This car found a place in his heart, as it did in mine.
I think it's a cool car. It's a shame that the Yaris GRMN is so expensive.
I hope Toyota will find a way to offer this brand a bit cheaper in Europe.
It'll be less feisty than this one, but you'll have a cool Yaris for 208 GTI money.
If I have to compare it to the Clio RS and 208 GTI and make a choice, it's going to be difficult.
I think I'd choose the 208 GTI, but that's because it looks better next to my 205 GTI.
This one is super good, though.
It's a compliment that Toyota is able to make me doubt.
If you can make a Yaris exciting, you know you're doing a good job.
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