Evolved GR Yaris with 8-speed GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission

In the spirit of kaizen (constant improvement) TGR, Toyota’s performance arm, keeps making its products better and for the GR Yaris, an evolved version has now made its debut at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2024 which is on this week.

Breaking is good…
Following the debut of the GR Yaris, TGR has been implementing ‘driver-first car-making’ through repeated ‘breaking and fixing’ in extreme environments. They even have a slogan – ‘Thanks for breaking it’ – directed at the drivers who push the car to its limits to see what breaks.

You would be surprised if I told you that destroying cars is a good thing. The fact that the car was broken meant that a new problem had to be solved. Even if a part breaks during a race, engineers and mechanics do their best to fix it on the spot so the car can restart. By accumulating that experience and technology, the GR Yaris will become even more refined and stronger. That’s why the engineers are grateful to the drivers for uncovering the issues. “Thank you for breaking it.”

Rather than just take note of parts breaking, the causes are analyzed… even what kind of scratches and dirt were on broken parts is examined. Besides analyzing driving data, feedback is collected from professional racing drivers and test drivers and even Toyota’s Chairman, Akio Toyoda (aka Morizo), is involved in this process as he is a Master Driver in the company.

For the evolved GR Yaris, many improvements and changes have been incorporated not only in the  powertrain but also in its body, interior, exterior, and elsewhere to comprehensively enhance vehicle performance.

Newly developed 8-speed transmission
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 been added for the GR Yaris. 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.

The transmission was developed with the assistance of the TGR World Rally Team drivers who drove it in all kinds of conditions. The automatic transmission control software used has been optimized for sporty driving.

While conventional gear shifting relies on sensing vehicle behaviour (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 behaviour occur, with gear selection reflecting the driver’s intentions. It thus leads to gear selection that is similar to how professional drivers would shift gears.

The use of close-ratio gears, made possible by increasing the number of gears by switching from a 6-speed manual transmission to an 8-speed automatic transmission, achieves driving that makes the most of the engine’s powerband.

Improved engine output
The proven 3-cylinder turbocharged engine did not need much change, However, to improve competitiveness, the output of the 1.6-litre engine has been increased from 272 ps to 304 ps, while torque has been raised to 400 Nm from 370 Nm.

As before, power goes to all four wheels through the GR-FOUR 4WD system with an electronic multi-plate clutch.

GR-unique cockpit
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 sportscar cockpit. In addition to optimising the driving position, the control panel and display have been tilted 15 degrees towards the driver. Positioning of switches has also been carefully consider to ensure ease of use even when the driver is strapped tightly to the seat.

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 windscreen and lowering the upper edge of the centre 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 handbrake has been adopted for cars with the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission with a view toward car control in rally and gymkhana driving. Applying learnings from competing in the Japanese Rally Championship, a change in the positioning of the parking brake is available as a factory-installed option for the competition-oriented RC trim level.

By moving the brake lever further forward, the distance between the lever and the steering wheel is closer, enabling quicker operation. Also, by increasing the vertical angle, the lever is easier to pull, reducing operational burden.

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 behaviour, realizing operability similar to that of a racing car’s sequential transmission.

Also new is a professional racing driver-inspired 12.3-inch full-colour TFT display with a focus on visibility and the information necessary for sporty driving. In cars 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.

This change reflects requests from drivers who used a prototype in the Japanese Rally Championship. The engineers noted their comments which included calls for easy-to-understand warnings, especially in competition conditions when helmets are worn.

Exterior changes
Up front, the lower grille features a steel mesh that is thin and lightweight while still being strong. 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 rallies. Repair costs can also be reduced with this approach.

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.

An opening at the lower edge of the rear lower garnish allows air from under the floor to escape, reducing aerodynamic drag and improving manoeuvrability and stability, as well as dissipating heat from the muffler.

The upper and lower rear lamps have been consolidated to avoid damage and improve visibility, especially in rallies. Also, the high-mount stop lamp has been separated from the rear spoiler, increasing the spoiler’s customizability.

Reinforced chassis and body
The number of bolts fastening the body to the shock absorbers has been increased from one to three to suppress alignment changes during driving. This increases the responsiveness to steering inputs and improves handling stability.

By increasing the number of spot-welding points (by approximately 13%) and expanding the areas where structural adhesive is applied by approximately 24%, body rigidity has been increased to improve handling stability and ride comfort.

New “Cooling Package”
Because the higher engine output and the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission, it was found that improved cooling performance is required. An automatic transmission fluid cooler comes standard on cars equipped with the 8-speed automatic transmission.

Furthermore, a sub-radiator, cool air intake, and intercooler sprayer are available as factory-installed options in the form of a ‘Cooling Package’. This will be an extra measure of reliability for those who take the GR Yaris into competition.

The GR Yaris RZ High Performance Sebastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanpera Edition concept models displayed at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2023 will be available for purchase. They will be based on the evolved GR Yaris unveiled this morning and the production versions will be unveiled at 2024 Rallye Monte Carlo later this month.