Did you think it was all over when Toyota announced the GR Yaris wouldn’t be campaigned in the WRC in 2021? Well, think again. The GR Yaris will race, one way or another, just not in the WRC. Toyota are offering the rally-prepped GR Yaris AP4, for Asia-Pacific 4wd.
Australia gets a GR Yaris rally car
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Built to similar specifications of a WRC-2, Rally2 or R5 car, the GR Yaris AP4 will first turn a wheel in anger at the Netier National Capital Rally in Canberra, 9th-11th April.
As you would expect, much of the body has been modified and the suspension and steering overhauled. The engine remains a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder unit, although the exact specs remain confidential. The new exhaust manifold allows 1.5 bar of boost, though there is an air restrictor to keep power within the rules. We wonder if that restrictor can in Toyota tradition ‘fall out’ to add extra power... The manual ‘box of the road car is swapped out for a sequential unit.
Driving the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia-backed cars will be Harry and Lewis Bates. Harry is reigning Australian rally champion while his brother Lewis was a runner-up in 2019. Their dad and four-time ARC champion Neal Bates is managing the team.
Toyota has long been a supporter of Australian teams but this marks the first time it’s taking an active R&D role in developing a car.
"This really has been a collaborative effort to help bring these cars to life and we are looking forward to their competition debut next month," Bates said.
"The design not only gives us a great looking car, but fine-tuning the shape of the fenders and bumpers and other body parts using Toyota's advanced technologies has helped give us an aerodynamic edge.
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Bates also speaks highly of the base car, which as we all know, was designed from the ground up to be converted for rallying. Part of the regulations, for example, is that body parts such as the doors and roof cannot be swapped out. In the case of the GR Yaris, these are aluminium and carbon-fibre.
"One of the things that is fantastic about this car is that it was designed for rally conversion and is very low weight to start with," he continued.
"Together with the compact turbo engine and all-wheel-drive system, the GR Yaris is a great base car compared to what we have worked with previously to create rally cars.”
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