Toyota Yaris GR-4 teased once more as launch is penned-in for January

Toyota has continued dropping teasers of the incoming Yaris GR-4 by not only confirming the official launch date, but also detailing the final design further in a new image and extended video clip.

Closely following the first snaps released earlier this week, the newest 49 second clip, effectively a continuation of the previous video, sees Toyota President and CEO Akio Toyoda, under the pseudonym Morizo, sliding and doing donuts with the four-wheel-drive GR-4 on a pan before driving off into the sunset.

Building on the previous image, the latest reveals the GR-4 as receiving wider door sills, black alloy wheels and red brake calipers and just visible dual exhaust outlets. More crucially is the fact that the prototype boasts a three-door configuration with no apparent hint of concealed door handles alluding to a five-door bodystyle.

As evident by the video’s title, testing of the prototype has ended, therefore effectively confirming that all sightings from now on or leaked details will be that of the production variant.

In spite of the engine note denoting forced-induction, technical details surrounding the GR-4 are still unknown, despite a prior report claiming that it will feature a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine, the same displacement as the Ford Fiesta ST, that will be more powerful than the 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder that produced 155 kW in the preceding Yaris GRMN.

Initially forecasted to have bowed at the penultimate round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in Australia last month, an event subsequently cancelled as a result of the devastating bush fires that gutted the route around the hosting town of Coffs Harbour, Toyota has now revealed that the wraps will officially come off of the GR-4 at the Tokyo Auto Salon on 10 January next year.

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