Toyota

It’s hard to understate the hype that surrounded the original Toyota GR Yaris when it launched in 2020. It was a hot hatch of the kind not seen in years: a turbocharged, four-wheel drive rally homologation special in the mould of Lancia’s Delta Integrale. It quickly established itself as one of the best hot hatches of the modern era, fast, involving and exceptionally capable, with a sense that every key component had been engineered to an exceptionally high degree. Better than expected sales pushed Toyota to develop a heavily revised Gen 2 version, enhancing the package, addressing criticisms and extending its life - albeit with much-reduced supply in the UK.

The Gen 2’s substantially increased £46,195 asking price raised eyebrows, but Toyota updated the car in such fine detail they made a brilliant car even better, cementing the GR Yaris as an all-time great performance hatch.

Toyota was able to liberate extra performance from the purpose-designed 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder G16E-GTS engine, bringing its outputs (for European-market examples) up to 276bhp and 390Nm of torque. The engine upgrades deliverd strength as well as power, with a stronger valvetrain, new exhaust valve material, increased fuel injection pressure and stronger pistons, all put to the test in the Japan Rally Championship. There was also stiffer bodywork, revised AWD calibration, stronger transmission, improved cooling and chassis tuning.

The car presented here, a 2025 Toyota GR Yaris (Gen 2) RC - the ‘RC’ element here is crucial. RC means it’s the lightweight/stripped-out model, produced for buyers with the intention of using their GR Yaris in motorsport – think Mitsubishi Evo RS, Subaru WRX STI Spec C and Nissan Type R/Type S variants. In Toyota Gazoo Racing terminology, the RC trim is essentially the ‘race base’ specification, sitting below the RZ, and sacrifices convenience equipment to reduce weight and cost. Toyota explicitly described it as 'ready for customisation for racing'. Other nuanced differences include rally-compatible front knuckles to accommodate smaller wheel/tyre combinations suited for off-road driving.

Toyota created the Japanese-market-only GR Yaris RC as a homologation-style base car for rally teams, circuit racers, and enthusiasts who planned to modify the car themselves rather than pay for comfort features they would remove anyway. It’s the closest thing Toyota currently sells to a modern rally homologation shell with number plates – what the GR Yaris was originally meant to be, before Toyota produced too many!

So, no radio, no infotainment/sat-nav system, no speakers, regular turn-key ignition, simplified interior, no sound insulation, and halogen headlights instead of LEDs, all adding up to a saving of 30kg over the European-market GR Yaris Gen 2 RZ. Furthermore, the Japanese-market-only RC variant produces 304PS and 400Nm torque, considerably more than the European-market cars, due to the absence of an OPF filter from the factory.

This particular RC was specified new in Super White II paintwork, with the six-speed intelligent manual gearbox (iMT), larger 18-inch Enkei wheels with 225/40R18 8J Dunlop SportMaxx tyres and associated larger RX specification brakes, front and rear limited slip differentials, water spray for the intercooler and air conditioning – so, some useful choices with less weight, effectively the best of both worlds – arguably the best specification GR Yaris available and one which best represents the whole philosophy of the model.

This Gen 2 GR Yaris RC is believed to be the only example of its type in the UK. It is not a Japanese auction car but was dealership-ordered/registered by our vendor’s brother (who’s based in Japan), used for c.2,000km and serviced by Aichi Toyota (well ahead of schedule) before leaving Japan. It will have been through the IVA process and will be UK-registered in time for the auction.

Quite a car, a true rally-car-for-the-road.

Transmission: Manual