Toyota is preparing to jump head-first into the ever-competitive hot hatch market with a juiced-up variant of the Corolla hatchback.
Australia’s Car Sales reports that Tetsuya Tada, the man behind the Toyota 86 and new Supra, is leading the push within the automaker’s Gazoo Racing performance sub-brand to launch a fleet of vehicles.
Executives from Australia are pushing for a Corolla GR to be launched as soon as possible but according to Tada, there’s no guarantee the car will be Gazoo’s next production model.
“We have lots of requests from different countries, so it’s really, really challenging to decide on the order [of performance models].”
No matter when the vehicle arrives, Toyota knows that it will have to deliver a product capable of rivalling the market’s best, including the Hyundai i30 N and the Volkswagen Golf GTI.
“It’s not just Hyundai. Other car brands are doing this too, so we are researching this and we have to create the [right] brand strategy,” Tada said.
Currently in its twelfth generation, the Toyota Corolla looks more aggressive and sporty than ever before. A Gazoo-tuned model would inevitably be even more eye-catching with bold new bumpers and wings.
It’s difficult to know what engine Toyota would opt for considering how many powertrains it has at its disposal. With that being said, a turbocharged four-cylinder would be the most likely candidate, tuned to produce between 250 hp and 300 hp.
No launch date has been announced but a debut early next decade is probable.