Bad news for the Toyota GR Corolla? Fire-breathing 220kW hot hatch arrival pushed back - reports

There's bad news brewing for those waiting for the Toyota GR Corolla, with reports the brand's Subaru WRX, Hyundai i30 N and Honda Civic Type R rival won't actually appear until the end of 2022.

Credible reports out of Japan had initially pointed to GR Yaris' big brother appearing in June next year, but according Forbes in the USA, arrival of the GR Corolla has been delayed by around six months to late-2022.

When it does arrive, though, it could well be joined by a hydrogen-powered Corolla, too, though given the pace of infrastructure roll-out across Australia and the world, the latter could well be some sort of concept.

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Interestingly, Forbes is suggesting the Corolla in question won't be a hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle, but will rather run on hydrogen as its fuel source, like its race car.

But back to the GR Corolla. It will be unashamedly petrol powered, and will feature the same turbocharged 1.6-litre engine as its GR Yaris sibling, only this time with the grunt dialled up from that car's 200kW to a whopping 220kW, reportedly thanks to a re-tuned exhaust system. Torque is expected to remain unchanged, at 370Nm.

It will also adopt the GR Yaris' 4WD system - with the option of channelling up to 70 per cent of the power to the rear tyres - and will be roughly 20mm wider than its donor vehicle.

The GR Corolla is also expected to be a more road-focused machine than its rally-bred sibling, which makes sense given the extra practicality on offer, and it could even debut the first GR automatic gearbox.

The GR Corolla is pretty much a sure-starter for Australia, with the brand having already trademarked the name here, and pointing to the obvious market for hot hatches Down Under.

"If the business case stacks up, and the numbers stack up, then for sure," a Toyota spokesperson told CarsGuide. "We know that there is a market for performance hatches in that segment."

The only question now, then, is when?