Some of the best moments in automotive history happen when marques go certifiably crazy. Audi stuffing a V12 diesel engine in a family SUV, Buick upstaging the Corvette, that sort of raw singular ambition. The GR Corolla already felt like a high water mark for Toyota, a homegrown sport compact car with a drivetrain to sin for. So how do you make it better? By going crazier. This is the all-screaming, all-dancing, hardcore, R-rated GRMN Corolla, a factory tuner special with eye-popping purpose. And you thought the Morizo Edition was bonkers.
In the current market of hot hatches, the GR Corolla occupies an interesting niche. Sure, its surprisingly potent 300-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-three is quite the curiosity, but perhaps the highlight of the whole car is its all-wheel-drive system. Nothing else in this segment offers limited-slip front and rear differentials, and the result is an absolute weapon when the roads get slippery. I remember testing one mid-winter on Blizzaks and the confidence it served up was simply immense. As such, it shouldn’t be surprising that Toyota’s five-door hot hatch has already been spun off into a wild special edition. The Morizon Edition of 2023 ditched the rear seats, shortened the final drive ratio, upped the torque, and reworked the chassis to create something rather frenetic. Compared to the GRMN, it was just a warm-up lap.
Under the hood, the GRMN Corolla features roughly the same sort of engine that we’re now deeply familiar with. Horsepower still stands at 300, but peak torque climbs slightly from 295 lb.-ft. to 302 lb.-ft. of twist. Then again, numbers alone don’t tell the whole story here. Toyota claims its optimized under-the-curve output from 4,000 to 4,600 RPM, the sort of rev range where extra punch results in quicker corner exits on track. To stay cool under pressure, Toyota’s also added an intercooler sprayer, primed to hose down the air-to-air intercooler, reduce intake air temperatures, and keep the GRMN Corolla happier during long, hard track sessions.
Speaking of the track, the “MN” in the GRMN Corolla’s name doesn’t stand for Minnesota, but instead “Meister of Nürburgring.” You know, that 12.9-mile racetrack in Germany that makes most club circuits look like karting tracks. Bumpy, fast and unforgiving, automakers have been pushing their machines to the limits on this stretch of tarmac for decades, and you can tell this Corolla’s been honed there just by how it’s been tweaked. Let’s start with the tires, sticky 245-section Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s. High friction, high grip, but still enough tread to cope with a spot of drizzle. Speaking of traction, Toyota claims both the all-wheel-drive system and the steering have been retuned for high-speed running. The sort of thing you want when flat-out to the bottom of Fuchsröhre.
Then there’s the suspension. Toyota threw the standard twin-tube dampers in the bin, instead speccing unique rebound-spring-equipped monotube dampers that prevent oil aeration over the relentless bumps of the Green Hell. With a standard layout up front and an inverted one out back, these dampers should be a substantial upgrade that trades a little bit of street comfort for a whole bunch of capability. Of course, hit a big enough bump and any car will run out of damper travel, which is why Toyota’s retuned the bump stops on the GRMN Corolla to make brief stints of low-level flight more manageable.
Of course, the suspension’s a whole lot harder to see with the GRMN Corolla on the ground than the aerodynamic tweaks. If those heavily ventilated front fenders look like something off a Super Taikyu race car, you’re just seeing exactly where Toyota got its inspiration from. Louvers up top help extract trapped air from atop the front tires, and should help the new front winglets do their job more effectively. Around back, the GRMN’s wing element is adjustable through five degrees depending on how much downforce you want. Need more top speed? Trim it out. Want more stability? Steepen its rake.
Like the Morizo Edition, the GRMN Corolla gets its own regimen of weight-saving that starts with throwing the rear seat in the bin. Does that make it technically a van? Argue with your local taxman about that. Regardless, a carbon fiber hood with some hardcore venting also contributes to a weight reduction of 77 pounds over the standard GR Corolla, although U.S.-market examples won’t be getting the coolest weight reduction measure—a set of fiberglass bucket seats with seriously aggressive bolstering.
Oh yeah, the GRMN Corolla isn’t forbidden fruit. This winged, vented, gold-wheeled, flocked-dash-equipped, Morizo-signed two-seat special is coming here. Toyota hasn’t officially announced how many will make it across the ocean or what each one will cost, but the answer to the former is likely not many. Regardless, this is a big deal because America usually hasn’t received the wildest Toyotas.
The GR Supra Final Edition that Europe and Japan got featured some serious upgrades. A huge wing, an extra 47 horsepower, a complete new suspension package featuring high-end KW adjustable coilovers. Meanwhile, America’s Final Edition GR Supra was mostly an appearance package. It got some minor chassis calibration tweaks, but they were more-or-less the same as the standard final-year Supra in other markets. Then there’s stuff like the Lexus LBX Morizo RR, a hopped-up GR Corolla in a suit. Or the GR Yaris Sebastien Ogier 9x World Champion Edition, a ‘roided-up GR Yaris with a special AWD mode for high-speed gravel running. Neither of which made it to North America.
In that context, the GRMN Corolla coming to America feels like a big deal. Not only is it the new top-dog Japanese hot hatch, it’s a moment of glorious overkill that North Americans will actually be able to enjoy. No waiting 25 years for this one. It’s a good sign, because if this takes off, it should mean that more wild Toyotas could come our way.
Top graphic image: Toyota
This got me thinking, so I fired-up GT7 in a stock (with sport soft tires) Morizo GRC and got a 7:58 (to the second bridge) with my fairly clumsy driving. I’d love to see what this could do IRL in capable hands!
Fine, it’s fine and impressive and all that. The vents and whatnot on the front fenders are a bit much for my tastes but that stuff probably appeals to those who will actually get to buy this car.
TBH, I think that I’d rather have the pre-refresh GR Yaris. Cuter and smaller, with 2 doors.
What I will never, ever understand, and don’t want to, is…it’s a fucking COROLLA…and it’s a…3 cylinder! Ha ha ha ha ha. I seriously can’t help but make fun of it. No matter what you do to it and how many fancy doodads you throw at it…it’s still a…Corolla! Enjoy your toy
There’s been at least a 60 long effort to take mundane cars and turn them into quasi sports cars.
The Pontiac GTO was just a ho-hum car tarted up, and it’s exactly this DNA that the GR Corolla hails from.
Even most of the famed BMW M cars are GTO cousins in reality. Golf’s are low budget grocery getters but they’ve been given the same type of hot rodder treatment since the MK1.
Are these ordinary Joe Smoe hatches and sedans actually better than a dedicated platform sports car? Seems to depend on who you ask.
The GTO was an awesome classic car, the Bimmer M cars were amazing, even the Golf was meant to be fun/tossable…but can’t be compared to a…Corolla.
It’s always been an econobox, so for me at least: I will never understand. Since this is The Autopian, I will say I’m glad that people enjoy them. Everyone has different tastes in everything. Maybe some of it is from that I know someone who every single time they get a new car, it’s a…Corolla.
The GTO was nothing but a big motor in a crappy package that stopped and turned like a 60s truck. Deloren scammed the public well, which was his gift and which he excelled at right up to the bitter end.
M cars are much better than the GTO, but they are the same song, second verse. As is the Golf R etc, decades of tech improvements have made them much better at the sports part, but they are still family sedans or economy cars at heart.
This GR Corolla is such an odd duck, by removing the back seat it’s now in 718/Vette/Miata land of practicality, which makes it a dubious value. Does it do anything better than those true sports cars?
The reason why the original GTO feels like an oxcart with a massive engine is that US roads mostly look like this:
https://www.moontravelguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NV_LonelyHighway_Neillockhart-Dreamstime.jpg
Whereas the reason why European sporty econo cars may feel better at doing the sport part (but are massively slow) is that the roads there look like this:
https://www.adriaports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Brennero-1200×640.jpg
I’ve been on many a US highway that looked like that lonely road in Nevada. You battle to stay awake.
considering how well the Corolla has sold for it’s lifetime, that’s high praise.
considering the Corolla bumper is held on by 5 pieces of plastic and a prayer, it is indeed just a Corolla.
back in the 80s-90s a Mustang was a 4 Cylinder econobox (or a V6 sorority girl car), but it was still a thing, you could hear the power steering a mile away, but they were still a thing. today, considering the value I’ve seen foxbodies go for, they’re still a thing, and I suspect if the exhausts they have fitted are any indication, they need to be loud to drown out the noise of the power steering pump.
anyway, it may just be a Corolla, but it is a special Corolla. is it as recognizable as a M3? nope, but it goes, for the price new? I’d rather spend my money on the Corolla. or just say screw it and save some money, take a chance on the thing splitting in half, and get an e46 M3.
You can say the exact same about Imprezas, Celicas, Focus (Foci?), Fiestas, Civics, Golfs, Rabbits, and basically every other hot hatch/WRC car ever made.
Yes it’s a 3 cyl. No it’s not a Subaru Justy or Kei car. It’s a tuner special made by an OEM, like almost every other tuner special made by an OEM.
If you want to blame anyone for the 3 banger, shake your fist at the politician of your choice.
Cool little build. But Im not buying a hot hatch with no rear seat. But if they make it limited enough they’ll sell them all real quick, which is probably the point.
Dealers are going to absolutely ruin this. GUARANTEED. Hell look at all the crap that goes on trying to buy a basic GR Corolla or Type-R still years after release. You think that’s bad, wait until Toyota dealers get their hands on a super limited higher performance version. Just because I’m not willing to pay a $15k markup doesn’t mean there isn’t demand.
A roided up 3-Cylinder Corolla… Its a winner in the false constraints we put on life.
If you needed a 3cyl AWD Hot Hatch with a mediocre interior, that’s marginally faster around the “Ring”, then this is the perfect car. But in the grand scheme of things, its a car for someone with entirely too much money and too little personality. “My GRMN Corolla is 9.324168 seconds faster around the Ring than your Golf-R”
Its a homologation special for a race that never existed.
Great news, the grumina is back!
I’m happy that it exists, but sad at the price they will likely be asking. I really wanted a GR Corolla for a while, but the prices are hard to get over (assuming you can even find one).
Detune it to about 250/250 hp/tq, keep the AWD, put it in the stock body car, add a 6M, add the backseat back in and sell it unrestricted (not limited production) and I’ll have a new daily commuter.
OK, but I will still complain about all the Toyotas we do not get like the HiLux, HiAce, ProAce, Land Crusier 300, Land Crusier 70, GR Yaris, etc.
You still don’t get the GR Yaris, which is clearly the wildest one. This Corolla is sort of like if the Yaris took on a Vegas residency and got addicted to cheeseburgers.
this is the american way
Yes, briefly. That sort of habit will result in a RAV4 GR Sport and maybe even introduce a Sequoia GR to the market.
There already is a GR RAV4…
Grumman 😛
If it has GPS, it could be a Garmin.
Tomcat is best cat.
25K miles in to my GR Corolla and still smile when I drive it. Like this or hate it, at least they’re still making fun &#%$ vs another SUV with an RS or M badge.
When I see one of these or the GR Yaris drive by I give the driver a thumbs up. They didn’t buy it for prestige, soft touch luxury or a badge. They bought it for the feeling they got driving it.
It’s a GR(e)M(li)N. For tormenting that AWD M2 from earlier.
(…gonna head the AMC jokes off at the pass, here.)
It’ll go around the ring at a rapid Pace(r).
Ok, fair, that was actually a good one.
No rear seats BUT rear door windows. Welcome back HHR SS Half-Panel
Edit: I have been made aware that the HHR Half panels did in fact have rear seats, and my day has now been ruined.
You might be thinking of the Mini Clubvan
In an alternate dimension, GM would see this and make a 2-door, AWD, 6-speed-manual version of the Trax, market it as a ‘hot hatch’ and call it the Trax SS. And then they would bring back a lowered turbo AWD 2-door Canyon and market it as a Syclone.
I wished I lived in that dimension. 🙂
Chevy Prizm SS 😀
You get a new Bolt and the Blazer EV SS instead.
If you want performance and an engine instead of electric motor, your only real option is a Corvette.
Sadly agrees with a sigh…
In my opinion, the best thing they could do is replace the entire exhaust system. These things look cool and go like stink, BUT the noise they make is terrible.
Corolla: AWD is amazing! Drive it in the winter with loads of confidence! So cool. Thanks Toyota!
M2: AWD is a crime. You can get by just fine on snow tires. We are witnessing the downfall of sports cars as we know them. It bothers me that this option even exists. Set it on fire.
I laughed, but the steelman for that argument is losing a FWD economy car is unremarkable but losing a RWD sports car is sad.
Yes I know it’s only an option on the M2. I didn’t say it was the strongest steelman.
I appreciate that there’s someone else out there keeping a persistent context running between stories, too. I had the same thoughts.
This is an amazing comment, but I do think it’s probably worth noting that the M2 somehow weights 700 pounds more than this
C&D has the regular GRC at 3345lbs and the M2 at 3725(+130 for the AWD). So as far as I can tell it’s about 500lbs heavier, but it’s also longer, wider, has bigger wheels/brakes and literally twice the engine. If you ask me, the M2 (3725lb) is roughly on par with something like a CT4V Blackwing (3851lb). The CT4VB is longer, but the M2 is wider, and they share roughly equal passenger volume (90 vs 93cu.ft, respectively). I don’t see anyone whining that the CT4VB is porky even though it tips the scales at nearly 4000lbs.
All of those cars are too heavy. My FK8 Type R weighed 3094 on the scales and it is larger than all of them.
I’ll always support a new and exciting car instead of a boring SUV, so good on Toyota. Not that I could afford one anyways
I’m sad that this will probably be limited in production and priced out of reach for many but I like it!
This is how the base GR Corolla always should have looked. I want my turbo awd compacts to look either like
A.) A Fast and Furious extra.
B.) A stage rally car.
Did they fix the transfer case overheating issues on this one?
El Oh El, no. However the re-calibration of the AWD drive modes for the 2025+ help. You can’t lock it into 30/70 anymore, the ecu adjusts on the fly how much to send to the rear, meaning it will send more to the front as much as possible, thus reducing thermal load. It really needs a transfer case cooler if doing heavy lapping, but just as all of the turbo hot hatches, the aftermarket has a solution for the track rats.
Well for a track edition named after the ‘ring, it should have the improved t-case coolers from the factory, but that’s just my opinion
I wholeheartedly agree with you, but alas.
It is at this exact moment that I must mention that my completely stock Kona N handled an entire summer HPDE day. I did have to flush the brakes soon after but when Hyundai claims the N cars are track capable out of the box they’re not exaggerating.
FWIW not all people have issues with the GR transfer case overheating while on track. It is one of those things that the internet took and ran with since it can happen. If you force the earlier cars into that 30/70 mode it puts a ton of heat into the system, the “Track Mode” is the 50/50. Plus it just defaults to a 2WD mode, not a true limp mode, the rest of the car still works. The ECU Will pull timing and reduce engine output, but every turbo car I have had does that too. Similarly, people always talk about how the FK8 Type R can’t do a track day either without overheating. I was able to get through half a session before I had to back off to 75% pace for a half lap to cool everything down. Even then I backed off pace earlier than I needed too because it is my daily, and you can only lose at an HPDE. After that quick cooldown, which also gave me space from traffic, I was able to finish the session at maximum attack.
So about the same amount of power and torque as a 20 year old STI. For probably 3x the money.
Why should I get excited? I keep on forgetting.
Because when your GR Corolla engine blows up for using 40% of its capability, you get to experience the thrill of what excuse Toyota will use to refuse the warranty claim.
It amazes me how little press this issue gets. Oh wait, no it shouldn’t. Because our press is head over heals in love with their beloved Toyota.
The GR Corolla is notable because Subaru still doesn’t offer a hatchback WRX (let alone in a halo STI trim).
Because Subaru refuses to build the STi hatch these days.
You could buy a new WRX. With the same power and torque as that 20 year old version I guess. (But not a hatch.) (Coming from an owner of a 20yr old WRX and a GR Corolla.)
Don’t forget, with open diffs too.
Well for starters the STi does not currently exist. But I’m with you, I’d love a factory new 2012 Sti 5 door
The EJ257 was super fun, but absolutely unreliable junk.
Sounds like the few G16Es that failed were probably money shifted.
All EJ257s on the other hand, will fail under 150,000 miles with the exception of a very rare few.
Imagine an STi hatch back that’s actually reliable.
I didn’t know Mansory did Toyotas.
This car is far too Nurburgring for me. It even has it in the name.
On one hand: this defeats the purpose of a hot hatch, it’ll be stupidly expensive, and dealerships will add obscene markups that JDM bros will happily pay for what’s more or less a few carbon fiber bits and a rear seat delete.
On the other: I’m quite happy it exists!
This. So much this.
I don’t want it, but I want it to exist.
Yes.
Happy that it exists.
But can we do a new model that slots in just under the current GR Corolla that’s slightly detuned for reliability, softer suspension for crossing train tracks or hitting potholes, a bit of added insulation to the cabin, without the silly three-port exhaust, and brakepads that I can buy in-stock at any automotive shop.
What you’re looking for is a GTI
If they offered with a 6MT.
You missed the part where they said “reliability.”
As a former GTI owner I can still hear the misfires!
You could check out the Acura Integra, it is significantly down on power compared to the GR Corolla or GTI, but genuinely enjoyable to drive and a nice place to spend time. The Type S gets you a similar power output but I assume it will be a harsh ride.
The Type S has a suspension setting that goes 1 level softer than a Civic Type R, and it’s so widely liked that it’s a popular mod for Type Rs. I imagine it’ll probably be good enough for our pal here, although the Type S is very expensive for what it is.
$15,000 more than a loaded regular Integra is a lot of money. I personally think it’s probably worth it and have long lusted after a Type S, but it’s an objectively expensive car for what it offers.
Good to know about the suspension, I hadn’t read that. I really like the Type S, but I doubt they will depreciate enough for me. Personally I think I would settle for the regular Integra since they are relatively cheap second-hand, and still pretty fun.
Really a GTI is still the perfect car if it wasn’t for those damn capacitive touch controls. I test drove one that I really enjoyed, but living in MN it was a non-starter, those systems don’t work well when they are cold and I don’t have a heated garage. Might be minor to some but I would be upset every time I got in the car.
Even the base Integra feels like a jump from the Civic Si just to get a hatchback.
As you said, I’m sure the ITS is probably worth it – especially for the refinement over the GR Corolla.