After much speculation and plenty of teases, Toyota is ready to unveil a new car. The GR Corolla will be a hot hatch that Americans can actually buy, and is expected to bring many rally-inspired touches, along with aggressive styling and plenty of power. Now, we finally know when it will be announced.
Toyota hasn’t elaborated on specs, but we’ll likely see a version of the turbocharged three-cylinder engine that comes in the GR Yaris. It’s a 1.6-liter unit that makes 257 horsepower, which is the most of any three-cylinder engine. A six-speed manual transmission and rally-friendly all-wheel drive are also expected.
The GT-Four badging refers to the car’s all-wheel drive system.Toyota
The GR-Four badging refers to the car’s all-wheel drive system, which it’s also expected to share with the Yaris. That means a torque-vectoring system with the ability to shift torque between the front and rear axles. Different modes allow the driver to select how that torque is split, such as with the Yaris’ Sport mode, which sends 70 percent of it to the rear wheels.
Toyota’s been teasing the hot hatch for months, and here in the U.S., we’ve had to watch the rest of the world get a crack at the GR Yaris while sitting on the sidelines. That demand – assuming as many people actually end up buying the thing as have said they will – is likely to make it difficult to find a GR Corolla for retail pricing at first. If you’re even slightly considering the car, watch the reveal video here at 9:30 PM EST on March 31 to find out when you can place a reservation.
