As part of a scoop road test feature ahead of the car’s official South African launch, we strapped our timing equipment to the newest Gazoo Racing creation, the mighty GR Corolla…
Fresh from its somewhat frustrated exploits at the 2023 Simola Hillclimb, the CAR magazine team welcomed one of the most exciting Toyotas to pass through our test garage in a long time. Sure, in recent months we’ve reviewed the GR Supra and new GR86, but each of these cars carries DNA from partner brands, BMW and Toyota, respectively. The plucky GR Yaris, on the other hand, is all Toyota and proved to be an enticing appetiser for the main course, its big brother Corolla.
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A project personally overseen by the former president of Toyota and keen amateur racing driver, Akio Toyoda, the mandate from the man whose first car was a Corolla was clear, to produce “a Corolla that captivates customers.”
The cover star of our forthcoming July 2023 issue, we thought we’d preface the on-sale date of this issue by publishing the VBox-tested 0-100 km/h sprint, as well as the quarter-mile times for the new GR Corolla Circuit derivative.
Related: Watch: Toyota GR86 Quick Look
As a reminder, the GR Corolla features the same turbocharged 1,6-litre, 3-cylinder petrol motor as the GR Yaris, yet in this application (together with software updates, some minor piston mods and a trick – three tailpipe – exhaust system to better manage backflow) it offers 221 kW and 370 N.m. Mated with a six-speed manual transmission, the GR twins send power to all four wheels via the brand’s new GR Four variable all-wheel drive setup.
While launching a manual, all-wheel drive car is an altogether cringe-worthy exercise that involved unceremoniously dropping the clutch at near maximum revs, this is necessary in order to avoid getting bogged down by the car’s superior grip levels.
With no clear benchmark 0-100 km/h sprint time offered by Toyota South Africa, imagine our surprise when our first run delivered a time of just 5,04 seconds. As a reminder, the similarly all-wheel drive, yet DSG-operated Volkswagen Golf R tested in December 2022 recorded a time of 5,03 seconds – using its no-fuss launch control module. What’s more, the Toyota went on to cover the quarter-mile distance in 13,23 seconds, crossing at a speed of 169 km/h. On the same test strip, but on a different day, the Golf R completed this quarter mile in 13,37 seconds, at a speed of 154 km/h.
Related: Official pricing! Toyota GR Corolla comes in cheaper than the Golf R
The caveat to the GR Corolla’s headline-grabbing best 0-100 km/h sprint time, however, is that the car’s clever all-wheel drive, which incorporates a clutch pack mounted to the rear differential, has “self-preservation” sensors that quickly let you know when the system is getting too hot. Our second run, a short while later, registered 5,34 seconds, with a clear warning via the vehicle’s digital instrumentation that the system was getting too warm to deliver back-to-back optimal performance.
The moral of the story is, “We’ve got one shot at this, Maverick!”
Look out for more content on the GR Corolla, as well as a full road test feature in our July issue, on sale on 23 June.
