This wrecked GR Yaris serves as a testament to just how hard Toyota tests its new cars
https://www.carscoops.com/author/bradcarscoops-com/
by Brad Anderson
1 hour ago
- Toyota is displaying the wrecked hot hatch at one of its new R&D centers in Japan.
- Sitting alongside Toyoda in the GR Yaris was nine-time Japan rally champion Norihiko Katsuta.
- Toyoda’s crash came just a month before the facelifted GR Yaris was unveiled.
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda absolutely loves racing and is the man largely responsible for a fleet of compelling Gazoo performance models. However, in December last year, he managed to crash a GR Yaris specially prepped for rallying.
While at the Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama last year, Toyoda jumped behind the wheel of the rally-bred hot hatch with nine-time Japan rally champion Norihiko Katsuta in the passenger seat. He took to a specially built gravel rally track, putting his driving skills to the test, at least until he ran out of talent.
Read: Toyota GR Says No To EVs, Yes To Hybrids
Footage of the crash was recently shared online after a special inauguration ceremony for the research and development facility. It shows Toyoda pulling the handbrake of the GR Yaris for a tight left-hand bend before he attempted to powerslide the car through a right hairpin. However, he turned in a little too early and hit a mound of gravel and rocks at the apex.
The force of the impact immediately flipped the Toyota onto its side before it rolled onto its roof, leaving Toyoda and his co-driver hanging upside down. Fortunately, both escaped the crash without injuries and were able to quickly free themselves from the wreckage without too much drama.
While Toyota could have repaired the car that Toyoda crashed, it decided to put it up on display as-is at the R&D center as an example of just how hard the company tests its products. The car’s roof is obviously dented and the windscreen smashed but the damage doesn’t look too bad, all things considered.
The GR Yaris crashed by Toyoda was not the latest 2024 model, unveiled at the start of this year. This new and improved version of the hatch has a modified 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine and produces 300 hp at 6,500 rpm and 296 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque. It is also available with an optional eight-speed automatic transmission.