More than half a year after it was leaked at a US Toyota dealer expo, the Corolla GRMN has been unveiled, taking lessons from racing to create the most raucous Corolla ever.
The Corolla GRMN is to the GR Corolla what the Subaru Impreza WRX STI was to the Impreza WRX, with more hardcore upgrades perfecting the already well-loved recipe.
Based on the GR Corolla, the GRMN – short for ‘Gazoo Racing, Meisters of the Nürburgring’ – was both honed via development prototypes at the Nordschleife, as well as through Toyota’s hydrogen-powered entry in Japan’s Super Taikyu Series.
Toyota Australia has confirmed the Corolla GRMN will come to local shores, with the hot hatch due to arrive in 2027. Local pricing will be announced closer to its on-sale date.
Compared to the existing GR Corolla, the Corolla GRMN features multiple carbon fibre panels, which includes its bonnet (now with added ducting), wheel-arches (with more vents), outer front bumper splitters, and an adjustable rear wing (which can be moved by up to five steps in one-degree increments).
Other little changes include the new GRMN logo at the front and back, as well as darkened Toyota badges on the grille and boot.
In Australia and North America, the Corolla GRMN will be able to be ordered in a new khaki finish (not pictured), or the global Black Gravite paint colour.
Under the wide guards sit matte bronze 18-inch wheels, now shod in 245mm-wide Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, 10mm wider than the existing rubber on the GR Corolla.
Mechanically, Toyota says the Corolla GRMN also features “exclusive front and rear monotube shock absorbers with rebound springs”, rather than the twin-tube units of the standard model.
According to the carmaker, these new shocks were honed during its Nürburgring test runs, in conjunction with a revised electric power steering tune, and a new all-wheel drive torque distribution split, said to provide optimal rear torque when cornering at high speed.
Inside, Toyota has followed the same recipe as the GR Corolla Morizo Edition by removing the rear seats in favour of a strut brace spanning the width of the hatchback, leaving it as a two-seater and reducing weight by 30kg, with the Corolla GRMN tipping the scales at 1450kg.
Both seats are exclusive to the GRMN and are based on the position of the Super Taikyu Series racers, allowing drivers to be more comfortable while wearing a helmet.
The instrument panel and A-pillars both feature flocked upholstery, while the passenger side gets the carbon-fibre treatment. Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda – also known by his racing pseudonym Morizo – has given his signature to the cabin, contrasted by Alumite Red trim on the gear knob and door panels.
Still powered by the same turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine as the standard GR Corolla, Toyota’s Japanese division says the Corolla GRMN continues to produce 224kW, however its torque output has increased from 400Nm to 415Nm.
Toyota Australia however says the Corolla GRMN makes 221kW (identical to local examples), while torque has risen by just 8Nm to 408Nm.
This, coupled with a new ‘close-ratio’ six-speed manual transmission, means it’s designed to be quicker off the mark than the existing hot hatch, though performance claims have yet to be released.
To keep it going on track for longer, the Corolla GRMN gets an intercooler spray system, reducing intake temperatures to allow it to make peak power for extended periods.
“Under the direction of our Chairman Akio Toyoda, the GR brand was designed to create high-performance sports cars using the knowledge and experience we gain from motorsport and this new GRMN Corolla was honed on one of the world’s most demanding race circuits, the Nürburgring,” said Toyota Australia vice president sales, marketing and franchise operations, John Pappas.
“This is truly our GR philosophy in action, and has produced an astonishing high-performance driver’s car that is as at home on the racetrack as it is on the road.”
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