There was no Toyota like the new one GR Yaris from the old Celica GT-Four ST205 from the mid-90s. It was only a matter of time before someone staged a face-among the most recent special rally monsters of the company’s homologation, and Fifth Gear was at the height.
In this short video, British tourism legend and Fifth Gear presenter Jason Plato takes both Toyotas around Castle Combe to find out how fast the Yaris is.
I say “how fast” and not “which is faster” because, with another 18 horsepower, extra gear, a weight on board about 240 kilograms lighter and 25 years of technological progress in general, it didn’t It was never a question of whether Yaris could beats the basis for what former FIA President Max Mosely once called The “most ingenious” cheat he had never seen her. Victory was inevitable – the question was how bad the scream would be.
That doesn’t mean Celica isn’t fast. “You know what? He’s 20 years old, he’s pretty good. You have to enter a lot of steering, but once the car is installed … that’s it, wow” Plato walks away, as I imagine I would do at the wheel Sega Rally coverage star on an open runway.
After beating Celica around Combe Castle, Plato connects with Yaris, whom he notices as bright “sharp and sharp” before setting a lap seven whole seconds faster than in the older car.
Yaris seems much faster on the way. Of course, that It is faster, but there is also a visual illusion to see modern rally cars, with a short wheelbase and bushy proportions, crushing a turn compared to the much larger cups we had in the ’90s. The pure rhythm is still surprising.
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I already knew that GR Yaris is fast – damn it beats Civic Type R, a car with about 40 horsepower, in a race of love. And yet, every time this hot hatch is released, it somehow shatters its already high expectations. Meanwhile, those of us on the wrong side of the Atlantic are being swallowed deeper and deeper by the depression of knowing we can’t have one.
No, this video won’t make you feel better about it, but seeing that these brothers hit the tarmac together will make your face smile. And maybe, maybe just, we can take a crumb of consolation in the fantasy that Toyota will soon fulfill its promise to bring a Corolla with GR flavor on our shores.