Toyota’s ‘Gazoo Racing’ Corolla Is A 300-HP Hot Hatch

The Toyota Corolla GR is ready to burn all the rubber.

Art showing the Toyota Corolla GR shredding its tires in billows of white smoke tell you what this all-new hot hatch is really all about.

“GR” stands for Gazoo Racing, which is the Japanese automaker’s performance/motorsport branch. And according to Road and Track,

American buyers have a hankering for a GR-branded, rally-inspired hot hatch, namely the smaller GR Yaris that’s available in Europe and Mexico.

Instead we get the Corolla GR loaded up with 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque from a turbo-charged, 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine that’s only available with a six-speed manual transmission.

It’s also all-wheel drive, and if ordered with the Performance Package or as the upgraded Circuit Edition, limited-slip differentials front and rear promise to raise the traction limit up higher in the corners.

It wears Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires wrapped around 18-inch, gloss-black 15-spoke cast alloy wheels, with ventilated four-piston calipers up front and two-piston calipers in the back, which are painted red in the Circuit Edition.

The Circuit Edition also gets a carbon fiber roof, raised hood, LED fog lamps and a special spoiler to go along with the standard GR Corolla’s aggressive bumpers flared fenders, extra cooling ducts and gloss black exterior accents.

Rally fans will be pleased to find an e-brake next to the shifter inside, along with the signature of Toyota President Akio Toyoda’s racing alias “Morizo.” in the Circuit edition.

An eight-inch touchscreen, CarPlay, Android Auto, radar cruise control and lane keeping assist are all standard. Pricing for the Toyota Corolla GR will be revealed before deliveries begin later this year.