More Power Could Be Coming To The Toyota GR Yaris

Got yourself a ‘Gen 2’ Toyota GR Yaris and not quite happy enough with the extra 19bhp it offered over the original? Well, good news for you – Toyota wants to extract even more power from it.

If you’re lucky enough to have a non-European market Yaris or a GR Corolla, the 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder offers a peak of 300bhp (or 276bhp for its emissions-strangled EU-spec) and 288lb ft of torque.

That could increase, though, if chief engineer Naoyuki Sakamoto gets his way. Speaking with Motor1, Sakamoto said: “Hopefully, we can come to a measure to increase power, and eventually, with that planning, it can come to the production Corolla and GR Yaris."

He continued to say that Toyota knows the limit of the unit now, having broken an engine in a GR Corolla TCR race car in testing, but added that Toyota is “...studying. We are trying to push the limit.”

Where the theoretical ceiling stops for the GR’s three-pot remains to be seen, but it’s a promising sign that there’s plenty more to come from the two hatch twins. This news comes as the Corolla is set for a slight torque lift with another update later this year, and there’s fresh hope of it coming to the UK with a production line opening at Toyota’s factory in Derbyshire.

It’s unclear if that same boost will be made available for the Toyota GR Yaris here in Europe, though. UK dealers recently introduced a new software option for existing customers to bring their original cars in for an additional 14lb ft of torque, so it’s not out of the question.

Sakamoto’s ambitions for power more or less confirm we won’t see Toyota’s in-development 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine find a way into either of the hatchbacks for now, anyway. That’s expected to find a home in the upcoming MR2 and Celica, however.