Hot Yaris' 257bhp Inline-Three To Power Golf GTI-Rivalling GR Corolla

Given that Toyota has gone to the effort of building the world’s most powerful production inline-three, it would have been a shame for the unit to be reserved for just one car. It should come as no surprise, then, that the GR Yaris‘s mighty 257bhp triple is set to make its way to other models.

Car Throttle sister publication Auto Express reports that the turbocharged three-cylinder engine - which puts out as much as 286bhp in the JDM-spec GR Yaris - is set to be used for a ‘GR Corolla’. It won’t arrive in the UK until 2023, but we suspect it’ll be worth the wait.

It’s expected to be more of a rival for the likes of the VW Golf GTI and Ford Focus ST rather than more track-focused stuff such as the Renault Sport Megane Trophy or Honda Civic Type R. It’s unknown if it’ll feature the same unusual, lightweight ‘GR-Four’ all-wheel drive system of the GR Yaris (below), but it’s thought the hot Corolla will mate the engine with a six-speed manual gearbox.

The fast car market isn’t especially lucrative right now, and tightening emissions regulations are making it harder to make such cars than ever. Toyota, however, is in a good place to dabble, and it’s all thanks to the Japanese company’s strong emphasis on hybrids.

This lowers Toyota’s fleet average, helping it avoid fines for breaching the EU’s incoming 95g/km threshold. Toyota European President and CEO Johan van Zyl told Auto Express, “Is GR Yaris really a volume contributor? No…It’s not going to be. But does it help with the positioning of your cars – more fun, excitement? Yes, it helps. And if you add it to the mix and calculate the impact to our CO2 averages in g/km, we can accommodate that.”

The question is, what else in the Toyota range might get the GR treatment, and how might that pan out? Reportedly a GR CH-R is in the works too, but beyond that, we’ll let you wildly speculate in the comments…