The Toyota Corolla is in line for the GR treatment, with a fully fledged hot hatch coming in 2023 to take the fight to the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Hyundai i30N.
That's the word out of the UK, at least, where AutoExpress is reporting the Corolla GR will make use of the same engine as the soon-to-launch Yaris GR - which also happens to be the most powerful three-cylinder engine in the world.
That engine, a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder, is a pint-sized powerhouse, producing 200kW and 370Nm of punch that utterly defies its size and cylinder count.
The new international information ties neatly with CarsGuide's own, with the Yaris GR's chief engineer, Naohiko Saito, telling us it would be "wasting time" for that engine to only be used in the one GR model.
"It’s wasting time to use a four-wheel drive system and this 1.6-litre engine (for one car). Personally, I’d like to use this powertrain for each of the other (GR) models," he told CarsGuide at the launch of the GR Yaris in Portugal.
The Corolla GR, then, would marry that engine and AWD system (the latter an adapted version of the RAV4's 4WD setup), with Toyota's lauded TNGA platform and a single-tune sports suspension. And that sounds like a tempting recipe indeed.
It would also be enough to push the Corolla GR towards the top of the hot hatch pile, out-punching the Golf GTI (180kW and 370Nm) and the Hyundai i30 N (202kW and 353Nm), and even pushing it close to Golf R territory (213kW and 380Nm).
The new model is shrouded in mystery for now, but if the international reports prove accurate, then Corolla will be a new name in the hot hatch world.
Toyota in Australia is yet to confirm the model, but has told CarsGuide that if such a vehicle were to become available, the brand would be first in the queue for it.
"We have always said that if international GR product were to become available, we would have our hand up for it," a Toyota spokesperson told CarsGuide.
"If a GR Corolla were to become available, and it was suitable for our market, it's definitely something we'd want here. But at this stage, we're yet to hear of anything."
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