Its anticipated world debut set for 2023, Toyota South Africa has not ruled-out the possibility of offering the GR Corolla on local soil when it does become available. Earlier this month, Toyota USA, on twitter, announced that while the four-wheel-drive GR Yaris won’t be offered anytime soon, “perhaps it’s time the U.S. got a hot hatch to call its own”.
On a back of a trademark application on Australia last month, speculation immediately suggested that the hot Corolla could be heading for the States as Toyota’s only other hatchback, the market specific Yaris, is based on the Mazda2 and therefore highly unlikely to receive the Gazoo Racing moniker.
Based on reports, the GR Corolla will be powered by a 184 kW version of the GR Yaris’ all-new 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine with drive set to go to all four wheels via the six-speed manual gearbox.
While declining to comment about the Corolla and the likelihood of it happening for certain, the automaker, in response to a question by The Citizen Motoring, stated that it “will support Toyota’s global GR brand strategy and introduce GR derivatives wherever we feel adequate market opportunity is present”.
A no-no however is the 2.0-litre turbocharged version of the Supra unveiled in Japan last year and subsequently this year in both the United States and Europe, with Toyota stating that no plans “at this stage” are in place for a possible market introduction.
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