You are right the main WRC car uses a different engine. But you are also wrong because there are different classes also. Ever heard of WRC2/R5? That's a class that Toyota had no car to compete in until now
Reigning World Rally Championship manufacturers' champion Toyota plans to build an R5-specification car that could compete in the WRC2 class, says team boss Tommi Makinen
www.autosport.com
And as a matter of fact the head and the block of the G16E-GTS meet the R5 homologation.
Not to mention none of that is relevant anyway. The
2JZ of the Toyota Supra was never used in racing and is still legendary.
Anyway I don't know if you guys have seen but over here there a ton of new pictures showcasing all kind of things about the car. Many of them can be downloaded in high definition size. Makes for good wallpapers
Celebrating the launch of the all-new GR Yaris in Japan, on sale nationwide through Toyota dealers starting from September 4, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing announced today that it will hold an event, called the GR YARIS ONLINE FES, that will display virtual images of the GR Yaris to fans, starting at 7:30...
global.toyota
Galerion said:
Not to mention none of that is relevant anyway. The
2JZ of the Toyota Supra was never used in racing and is still legendary.
(Exactly my point; doesn't have to be a WRC car to sell well. It's not legendary by a long shot however, look at the current Supra ; a cheap imitation of a BMW Z4 and pretty disappointing even under collaboration with another manufacturer. The Toyota Celica was and it went by way of the dodo. They milked that cow, until it was dead.)
Of course we're not talking about a WRC car of any class. You're continuing to attempt to make comparison between WRC cars and the production Yaris GR4 and it just isn't valid. Yes, they'll use a production line Yaris chassis for assembly at the Motomachi factory in Japan. However, it will still be a the production process handled by robots and experienced workers.
I can see how Toyota's marketing hype is steering you, it's obvious up to this point. I'm simply giving you the truth, minus all the hoopla. I can appreciate the thoughts and comments but they simply aren't mine. I've been a
automobile enthusiast for nearly 6 decades but I've also become much wiser over those years and listened to far less of the marketing hype, hoopla and looked at cars more practically. I'm still an automobile enthusiast. I'm here, just as you are.
This GR is definately something else.
Let's forget about the specs, the looks etc.
This is what moves the industry, THIS is what has never been done before, this is what Toyota is doing... to a Yaris.............
Please, let's don't forget about the specs, as they're important and keen to the entire discussion.
THIS (as you put it) has been done before so many times before in the past, by as many manufacturers based exactly upon marketing WRC replicas
; Subaru Impreza WRC - (WRX), Mitsubishi EVO, Ford M-Sport Fiesta, Audi Quattro, Porsche Carrera RGT-(Carrera GT, )etc. This is nothing new under the sun, it's just a rehash of every other previous marketing strategy used by various manufactures in the past.
I'm looking at the Yaris GR for what it really is and
it's not, a purpose rally built car or anything near it, as it's being posed by others. It's just a
production line boy racer replica, just like every other that has gone before it. Show me the practicality of such a car. The fuel mileage, durability, availability, longevity, etc and I may change my mind. Toyota won't sell the Yaris GR4 in the US (their largest auto market), because they know there isn't a market for it, nor would it sell. Buyers here look at the Yaris as; a subcompact econobox, nothing more. Even adding a bunch of performance parts isn't going to sway their thinking. It's more inline with the Fiat Abarth, that's sold here. It's not very popular either.
When the boy racer wears off and the miles pile on, tell me again how great a car it is. Till then, it's just a Toyota Yaris with window dressing. Let's see if the Toyota Yaris GR4 will stay in production for over a decade as the Hyundai Veloster has. Which has lead to the Veloster N production car. Time will tell, nothing more.
@Galerion You're right on one account so far; I'm not a
fanboy of the Yaris GR4 and wrong on the other hand. I bought the Hyundai
Veloster N because of the longevity of the Veloster production, practicality, availability, over a decade of success, tried and tested chassis, powertrain and warranty, at a reasonable cost of $29K. Better performance than the Yaris GR, in every aspect. (160+ top speed, 5.1 second 0-60, 13.8 seconds quarter mile).
Some cars are worth clamoring about, if that's what you like to do. Some, not so much.
The Hyundai Veloster N lacks the cachet of the sportiest Honda Civic and VW Golf, but its personality and incredible performance-for-the-dollar deserve acclaim.
www.caranddriver.com
Price the Toyota Yaris GR4 at the same cost as the VN and there might have something to clamor about. At $40K plus, not so much. Of course we all know how the Toyota Yaris is faring against Hyundai in WRC at the moment, don't we.
