Toyota Motor Europe (TME) and NACON are pleased to introduce gamers and rally fans to the all-new Toyota GR Yaris Rally Concept available as of December in WRC 9, the official game of the FIA World Rally Championship developed by KT Racing, via an in-game update. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally Concept is derived from the Toyota GR Yaris road car, widely regarded by motoring publications as the best performance car of its type on the market.

The Toyota GR Yaris is “Born from WRC”, so Toyota and NACON’s collaboration to bring this unique product into the WRC 9 game fulfils Toyota’s goal to excite and engage with car fans everywhere, while offering a tantalising glimpse into a possible future of Toyota rally cars.

The Toyota GR Yaris Rally Concept is inspired by the Toyota GR Yaris-shaped World Rally Car prototype which tested earlier this year. TME, together with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, GAZOO Racing Company and NACON, collaborated to turn our collective dream into reality as part of TME’s eSports WRC partnership with NACON. The overall winner of this season’s eSports WRC competition will also have a chance to win an all-new Toyota GR Yaris ⁽¹⁾.

It is rare for enthusiasts to experience a video game version of a newly-launched road or race car so early in the car’s lifecycle. But Toyota has brought a special rally edition of the Toyota GR Yaris to WRC 9 and the road car version to Gran Turismo Sport ⁽²⁾ during the product’s launch phase, demonstrating the company’s commitment to e-Motorsport and to excite fans everywhere.

For Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the creation of a sports car made purely by Toyota – the first in 20 years – was a personal ambition, which grew when TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT won the WRC Manufacturers’ Championship in 2018.

The Toyota GR Yaris is that car, built from scratch and designed to win at the highest levels. It is Toyota’s second global GR model, following the launch of the GR Supra in 2018.

The GR Yaris is built on a unique platform, combining Toyota’s new GA-B platform (which debuted on the new generation Yaris hatchback) and a rear section adapted from the GA-C platform used for the Corolla and C-HR. Input from the rally team emphasised the importance of light weight which is reflected in the use of aluminium body panels and a forged carbon composite roof, while weight reduction was prioritised throughout the car.

For the best aerodynamic performance, the body itself is unique: although based on the new Toyota Yaris hatchback, it is a three- rather than five-door model, with a lower, tapering roof line. This has been designed to direct wind flow onto the large rear spoiler which generates downforce. As with a competition car, the shaping of the lower body efficiently channels airflow down the sides of the vehicle.

The engine is also all new, a 1.6-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged unit. It is the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine as well as being the smallest and lightest 1.6 turbo. Producing 261 DIN hp and 360 Nm of torque, it complies with WRC2 technical regulations and can launch the Toyota GR Yaris from rest to 100 km/h in just 5.5 seconds, and on to an electronically-limited top speed of 230 km/h. Its construction uses features derived directly from motor sport, including a ball bearing turbocharger, large-diameter exhaust valves and multi-jet oil piston cooling.

A kerb weight of just 1,280 kg gives the Toyota GR Yaris an excellent weight-to-power ratio of 4.9 kg per 1 DIN hp.

Engine power is harnessed through a Toyota’s new GR-FOUR permanent, electronically controlled all-wheel drive system. Another competition-inspired feature, this provides three driving modes with different front/rear drive torque to suit the conditions – Normal (60/40 front/rear torque distribution), Track (50/50) and Sport (30/70).

The all new Toyota GR Yaris Rally Concept now joins the already-available 2020 Toyota Yaris WRC and the legendary 1999 Toyota Corolla WRC in WRC 9 to complete a past, present and future experience of Toyota rally in the official WRC game.

Despite a reduced 2020 World Rally Championship season, the Toyota Yaris WRC has performed strongly and is in contention for a double World Championship for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for the first time since Toyota returned to WRC in 2017. Elfyn Evans leads the Drivers’ World Championship by 14 points from teammate Sebastien Ogier, while TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is in second place in the Manufacturers’ standings, trailing by just seven points prior to the season-ending Rally Monza, scheduled to take place next month.

Based on the eighth generation of the world’s best-selling model, the Toyota Corolla WRC was produced by Toyota Motorsport GmbH (recently renamed to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe GmbH), debuting at the 1997 round of Rally Finland with legendary WRC drivers Didier Auriol and Marcus Grönholm behind the wheel. The Toyota Corolla WRC was driven to victory by another Toyota legend, Carlos Sainz, at the 1998 Monte Carlo Rally. In the following year, which would become Toyota’s last season before returning in 2017, the Toyota Corolla WRC won the marque’s final WRC victory at the 1999 Rally China, enabling Toyota to leave the sport on a high with a third Manufactures’ World Championship.

The all-new Toyota GR Yaris Rally Concept is available to anyone who owns WRC 9, the official game of the FIA World Rally Championship, after installing the latest game update which is scheduled to be released in December.