We double checked to make sure, but in the 10-year history of OnAllCylinders, we have never—ever—written a story about the humble Toyota Corolla.
Which is kind of odd, because it’s the world’s highest-selling car.
But in fairness, there hasn’t been much in the way of tire-shredding performance to talk about.
Until now, of course, once we saw the specs on the new 2023 GR Corolla that Toyota revealed late last week.
Details on the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla
For starters, the “GR” stands for Gazoo Racing—and we’ve definitely talked about Gazoo Racing before. Those two little letters mean that Toyota’s in-house racing team has turned up the wick on this little hot hatch.
It all starts under the hood, where the GR Corolla’s featherweight 1.6L three-cylinder turbocharged engine cranks out a jaw-dropping 300 horsepower and 273 lb.-ft. of torque. And that torque comes on at a street-friendly 3,000 rpm, and the snappy 1.6L hits peak hp at 6,500 rpm.
It gets even better, because that power is sent to a customizable “GR-FOUR” all-wheel drive system born out of Toyota’s rally racing program and WRC competition.
You can choose from a 60/40, 50/50, or 30/70 front/rear power split to fit your driving style and environment. It comes stock with open diffs, but you can get the GR Corolla with optional limited-slip diffs front and back.
Oh, and check this, you can only get the 2023 GR Corolla in a six-speed manual transmission. Yup—Toyota makes it clear that this sport compact is designed for driving enthusiasts.
For added lightness, the GR Corolla features extensive use of aluminum throughout, with additional weld points and extra structural adhesive to increase the GR Corolla’s chassis rigidity. Up front is a pair of MacPherson-type struts, while a double wishbone multilink setup lives out back. The GR Corolla wears 18 inch wheels, with four-piston calipers and 14 inch rotors in front, and two-piston calipers and 11.7 inch rotors in back.
At launch, the GR Corolla comes in two flavors: a “Core” Edition and a “Circuit” Edition—the latter being the more hardcore track version that comes with additional performance upgrades, including a carbon fiber hood and roof.
Each GR Corolla is built in a dedicated GR Factory in Japan. Toyota says the Core Edition will be available later this year, while the limited-edition Circuit Edition will arrive in 2023.
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