Updated GR Yaris with Automatic debuts at Tokyo Auto Salon

[KahnBB6]

Toyota's Kinto service that's only available in Japan now offers an OEM upgrade of +15ft-lbs or torque for GR Yaris owners and other custom tailored improvements of their own choosing.

From Jalopnik:

https://jalopnik.com/toyotas-kinto-service-in-japan-makes-your-gr-yaris-bett-1849451224

One of the coolest benefits Toyota offers its Japanese customers that we don’t get here is its Kinto Factory — a department that specializes in feature upgrades and refurbishing of existing vehicles. Thanks to the Kinto Factory, Toyota owners can add things like active safety features and other goodies that may not have existed for their car at the time it rolled off the production line.

The semi-new GR Yaris has just been added to the Kinto lineup, and through it, Toyota is distributing a software update previously only available to those who purchased — or subscribed — to the Morizo Selection version of the hot hatch. This update improves the Yaris’ peak torque from 272 lb-ft in the original car to 287 lb-ft. That’s a healthy increase, especially considering how small and light the little homologation special is.

Toyota also says that those who purchase the upgrade will also gain the ability to change other electronically-controlled performance parameters for the optimal driving feel. There are supposedly 27 combinations of steering assistance, accelerator response and all-wheel-drive torque distribution available with this software. For a $110 fee, Toyota’s GR Garage engineers will even make setting recommendations for you, based on collected driving data.

The Kinto Factory is a great idea, particularly in the context of the current automotive market. Cars are becoming harder to find and more expensive, prompting everyone to hold onto their vehicles for as long as they can. Offering welcome, quality-of-life upgrades over the course of a car’s lifespan may not be the shrewd capitalist strategy if you’re determined to sell as many vehicles as possible. But if you actually want your customers to be happy and the world to be less wasteful, this is the way to do it.

Alas, no such service exists for Toyota customers in North America. When the Kinto Factory was announced, there was some suggestion Toyota might monitor the reception and see how the experiment might be applied to other regions. I really hope the automaker recognizes a good idea when it’s come up with one; how great would it be for the company to offer some GR Corolla Morizo Edition perks to those who have the standard model? To that end we’ve reached out to Toyota Motor North America for comment, and if GR Corolla buyers in the West could one day expect similar after-purchase care.

Sponsored

 

[digicidal]

Would be great to see something like that here... however, with the way our culture - sadly even including car culture here works - I think it would be a mostly losing proposition.

All tuning options (esp. factory ones) are likely to disappear just like the ICE itself eventually - drowning in a flood of regulations. In order to maintain durability standards for warranty compliance the changes would have to be very small (like in this case providing ~14% more torque in a small band).

It seems like even with true sport compact enthusiasts (already an endangered species) there are only a few in the "just a bit more but still factory" camp. The remainder split between the "go hard till you go boom" group - where 50% gains are the minimum desired, and the rest focused more on fuel economy and swapping cars every 2 years.

 

[KahnBB6]

I don't recall when we first heard the rumors out of Japan but it does look like a GR Yaris GRMN... or other trim level (GR Yaris "Morizo"??) with the GR Corolla's 296hp/300hp engine is happening after all. It's getting the same rear seat delete treatment as the GR Corolla Morizo Edition and that Corolla's same 6-speed M/T gearbox with shorter gear ratios over the normal car. No word yet on what the final drive ratio will be in this faster GR Yaris.

It made sense at the time that they would put the uprated engine into the Yaris eventually. Not only is it a no-brainer way to make another limited GRMN or Morizo model but that version of the engine had to get into as many Toyota vehicles as possible to justify the additional development cost.

Just the same, this 8-speed automatic being developed for the GR Yaris is undoubtedly going to become part of the option list on GR Corollas as well in a year or two in order to amortize the development costs and make a business case for it.

https://www.motor1.com/news/610016/toyota-gr-yaris-to-get-toyota-gr-corolla-engine/

Motor1 article (originally sourced from AutoCar):

The Toyota GR Yaris is about to get even more exciting. Gazoo Racing chief engineer Naoyuki Sakamoto tells Autocar that the hot hatch is getting the higher-output engine from the GR Corolla Morizo Edition. There's no info about when the model arrives.

The GR Yaris with the Morizo-spec engine has a slightly different output than the version in the US. This application of the turbocharged three-cylinder 1.6-liter powerplant has 296 horsepower (221 kilowatts) and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters). The US-market variant has 300 hp (224 kW).

In Europe, the GR Yaris makes 257 hp (192 kW) and 266 lb-ft (360 Nm). So, the Morizo-engined version would have an additional 39 hp (29 kW) and 29 lb-ft (39 Nm) over the existing model.

This version of the GR Yaris also gets the GR Corolla Morizo Edition's six-speed manual with shorter gear ratios than the existing version of the transmission.

To make the most of the additional power, the new variant of the GR Yaris would lose its rear seats to reduce the vehicle's weight. There would also be single-zone climate control, rather than the existing dual-zone layout.

Sakamoto tells Autocar that an automatic version of the GR Yaris is still under development. It's an eight-speed automatic with a torque converter, rather than a dual-clutch layout. The gearbox has a manual mode, and the driver can shift through the gears using paddles behind the steering wheel.

The US doesn't get GR Yaris, but the GR Corolla goes on sale there soon. The entry-level Core model starts at $36,995. The Circuit edition arrives later for $43,995 with upgrades like front and rear limited slip differentials and a carbon-fiber roof. Toyota plans to build 1,500 of them and offer this version for a single model year.

The Morizo Edtion is at the top of the range for $50,995. In addition to the extra torque, it loses weight by cutting out a bunch of rear amenities like the seats, speakers, window regulators, and window wiper. Toyota only plans to offer 200 of them for the first model year in the US.

 

[Matador]

Not sure if y'all have been keeping up, but the GR Yaris will indeed see life in the WRC, albeit as a Rally2 (and eventually Rally3) machine.

 

[KahnBB6]

Not sure if y'all have been keeping up, but the GR Yaris will indeed see life in the WRC, albeit as a Rally2 (and eventually Rally3) machine.

Thank you for the excellent news!! That car deserves to be used in series competition!!

 

[Matador]

Merry Christmas

[video]

 

[kaj]

I am sure it's been said, but, would be great if we got them here. But, we did not, so let's move on.

 

[Kiwi Greg]

I am sure it's been said, but, would be great if we got them here. But, we did not, so let's move on.

The GR Corolla can't be far away now

 

[kaj]

The GR Corolla can't be far away now

I do like the Corolla also. If not for the fact that I've had a turbo, AWD car for the past 10yrs, I'd be very tempted. Very cool car, IMO

 

[Matador]

I am sure it's been said, but, would be great if we got them here. But, we did not, so let's move on.

Feel free to not check the thread?

 

[KahnBB6]

Feel free to not check the thread?

Yeah, I'm still interested to hear any news about the GR Yaris, any trim level changes and updates and whatever info on them being campaigned in racing is out there. Sure, I can't buy one in the States but that doesn't take away from it being an awesome genuine street legal rally car that still gets my attention.

 

[kaj]

Feel free to not check the thread?

Well then, I guess feel free to not reply.

 

[C-Pike]

Get the next best thing, GR Corolla / thread

 

[Matador]

GR Yaris Ogier & Rovanpera Editions

 

[orvillesd]

Torque converter, lowered seats for better visibility, updated interior among other things
https://www.motor1.com/news/704276/gr-yaris-debuts-automatic-transmission/

Sponsored