Evolved GR Yaris Makes World Premiere
Newly Developed 8-speed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission Joins Lineup to Expand Motorsports Base

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) held the world premiere today of its evolved GR Yaris at Tokyo Auto Salon 2024*1. Sales in Japan of the new GR Yaris are scheduled to start this spring through Toyota vehicle dealers nationwide.

Main points:
Ever-better motorsports-bred cars
- TGR has continued to compete in various motorsports following the debut of the GR Yaris. It has been implementing "driver-first car-making" through repeated "breaking and fixing" in extreme environments and reflecting feedback from professional race drivers and evaluation drivers, as well as from Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman and Master Driver Akio Toyoda, a.k.a. Morizo. This time, under the slogan of "Thanks for breaking it" directed at the drivers who pushed the vehicle to its limits, TGR reflected drivers' opinions not only in the vehicle's power unit but also in its body, interior, exterior, and elsewhere to comprehensively enhance vehicle performance.

Newly developed 8-speed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission joins lineup
- Based on Morizo's desire to provide the fun of driving to as many people as possible and expand the base of motorsports, the 8-speed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission has joined the GR Yaris lineup. The new transmission was developed to enable a wide range of drivers to enjoy sporty driving and compete in races using an automatic transmission that would equal manual transmissions.

GR-unique cockpit with visibility and operability refined together with professional drivers
- Recognizing that the cockpit plays a key role in delivering high-level driving performance, efforts were made with the help of professional race drivers to achieve an ideal sports car cockpit. In addition to reviewing the driving position, the control panel and display have been tilted 15 degrees toward the driver, with Super Taikyu Series and Japanese Rally Championship race cars serving as a motif, and visibility and operability have been refined, such as by positioning switches for ease of use even when the driver is harnessed to the seat.

Also, based on Morizo's desire to provide the fun of driving to as many people as possible and to expand the scope of motorsports, TGR has developed the 8-speed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission to enable the utmost enjoyment of a 1.6-liter inline 3-cylinder turbo engine mated to a 4WD drivetrain, which forms the essence of the GR Yaris. The result is a car that is designed so that a wide range of drivers can enjoy sporty driving and competing in motorsports to the fullest.

Main features of the evolved GR Yaris:

1. Newly developed 8-speed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission
The 8-speed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission was developed by honing it in motorsports and on various roads.
- The automatic transmission control software used has been optimized for sporty driving. While conventional gear shifting relies on sensing vehicle behavior, such as deceleration g-force, speed, etc., the optimized software also delicately senses the way the driver steps on the brakes and operates the accelerator. By doing so, it anticipates when gear shifting is necessary even before changes in vehicle behavior occur, realizing gear selection that reflects the driver's intentions and, thus, leading to gear selection that is similar to how professional drivers shift gears.
- The use of highly heat-resistant friction material in the automatic transmission's gear-shift clutch and enhancements to the transmission's control software have resulted in world-class gear-shifting speeds.
- The use of close-ratio gears.
- The RZ "High performance" trim level is equipped with a Torsen® LSD*3 that enhances driving force control performance through accelerator operation.

2. Exclusive cockpit with visibility and operability refined together with professional drivers
- The control panel and display have been tilted 15 degrees toward the driver, with Super Taikyu Series and Japanese Rally Championship race cars serving as the motif, for enhanced visibility and operability. Special attention was paid to the position of switches for ease of use not only during sporty but also regular driving.
- Driving posture has been improved by lowering the driving position by 25 mm and accordingly adjusting the steering wheel position. Also, forward visibility has been expanded by moving the rearview mirror to the top of the windshield and lowering the upper edge of the center cluster by 50 mm.
- Operability has been improved by raising the shift lever 75 mm compared to the current CVT-equipped GR Yaris RS and placing it in the same position as the shift lever on the manual transmission version of the GR Yaris. Also, a hand brake has been adopted for vehicles with the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission with a view toward vehicle control in rally and gymkhana driving.
- Applying learnings from motorsports, the direction of shift-lever manual-mode gear shifting has been reversed. Upshifting (acceleration) has been changed to pulling the shift lever, and downshifting (deceleration) has been changed to pushing the shift lever in line with vehicle behavior, realizing operability similar to that of a race car's sequential transmission.
- Featured new is a professional race driver-inspired 12.3-inch full-color TFT gauge display with a focus on visibility and the vehicle information necessary for sporty driving. In vehicles with the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission, in addition to an automatic transmission oil temperature display, a visual warning has been added to the gear position display in the gauge display to augment the conventional sound-only alarm for better alerting the driver that downshifting is not possible due to overly high rpms.

3. 1.6-liter turbo engine with refined output and torque
- Aiming to improve competitiveness in motorsports, engine output has been increased from 200 kW (272 PS) to 224 kW (304 PS) and torque from 370 N-m (37.7 kgf/m) to 400 N-m (40.8 kgf/m).

4. Exterior that reflects input from people engaged in motorsports
- Up front, the lower grille features a steel mesh that is thin and lightweight while still being strong, and the sides of the lower part of the front bumper have a new separable structure. These facilitate restoration and replacement work in the event of damage caused by flying objects such as rocks during competition in motorsports and can lead to reduced repair costs.
- The side lower grilles now feature a larger opening to ensure cooling performance. Furthermore, the bumper sides have outlets to effectively exhaust heat from the sub-radiator and automatic transmission fluid cooler*4.
- An opening at the lower edge of the rear lower garnish allows air from under the floor to escape, reducing aerodynamic drag and improving maneuverability and stability, as well as exhausting heat from the muffler.
- The upper and lower rear lamps have been consolidated to avoid damage and improve visibility while competing in motorsports. Also, the high-mount stop lamp has been separated from the rear spoiler, increasing the spoiler's customizability. Additionally, the continuous tail lamps provide a sense of unity and express the individuality that makes the new GR Yaris instantly recognizable.

5. Reinforced chassis and body to endure harder driving
- The number of bolts fastening the body to the shock absorbers has been increased from one to three to suppress alignment changes during driving, thereby increasing the responsiveness of vehicle behavior to steering operation and improving handling stability.

6. New "Cooling Package" for enhancing cooling performance
Because the higher engine output and the availability of the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission require improved cooling performance, an automatic transmission fluid cooler comes standard on vehicles equipped with the newly developed automatic transmission. Furthermore, a sub-radiator, cool air intake, and intercooler sprayer are newly available as factory-installed options in the form of a "Cooling Package" that takes competing in motorsports into consideration.

7. "Drive Mode Select" made standard to further enhance driving pleasure

8. New "Circuit Mode" for an extraordinary sense of dynamism that cannot be experienced on public roads
Circuit driving can be enjoyed with features that bring out the potential of the GR Yaris. These include anti-lag control and an increase in the speed limit of the speed limiter upon entering an area such as a circuit at which "Circuit Mode" can be activated, as determined by GPS location*5. Also, each function can be customized using a smartphone app.

9. Newly equipped with a vertical parking brake that takes competing in motorsports into consideration

Source: Toyota Global Newsroom

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