There has never been a Toyota like the new one GR Yaris since the old Celica GT-Four ST205 of the mid-90s. It was only a matter of time before someone staged a face-between the company’s two latest special rally monsters, and Fifth Gear got the chance.
In this short video, British legendary touring car and Fifth Gear presenter Jason Plato take both Toyotas around Castle Combe to find out how much faster the Yaris really is.
I say ‘how much faster’ and not ‘what faster’ because with 18 more horsepower, an extra gear, a weight of about 240 pounds lighter and 25 years of technological advancement in general, it really was never a question or the Yaris could beats the basis for what former FIA president Max Mosely once called the name “Most ingenious” cheat he had ever seen. Victory was inevitable – the question was how bad the nod would be.
This is not to say that the Celica is not fast. “You know what? It’s 20 years old, that, and it’s pretty good. There’s quite a lot of steering to put in, but once the car stops … it, wow.” Plato walks away, as I think I would be behind the wheel of the Sega Rally deck star on an open track.
After hitting the Celica around Castle Combe, Plato fastens himself in the Yaris, which he notices as dazzlingly “sharp and pointed” before doing a lap of seven full seconds faster than in the older car.
The Yaris looks so much faster on track. Of course it is is faster, but there is also a visual illusion to see that modern rally cars, with their short wheelbase and blunt dimensions, crush a shot compared to much larger coupes we had in the 90s. The mere fit still surprises.
G / O Media can get a commission
We already knew the GR Yaris was fast – hell, it beat the Civic Type R, a car with about 40 horsepower left, in a drag race. And yet, every time this hot hatch is released, it somehow breaks its already high expectations. Meanwhile, those on the wrong side of the Atlantic are being swallowed deeper and deeper by the depression of knowing we can not have one.
No, this video will not make you feel any better about it, but if you see these brothers and sisters hitting the tar, you will put a smile on your face. And maybe, just maybe, we can take a bit of comfort in the fantasy that Toyota will soon make the promise to bring a GR-scented Corolla to our shores.