Toyota Engineers Are Rallying a Corolla IM in the Backwoods

A group of Toyota engineers clearly had time to kill this summer, but at least they spent it with one of their products.

For whatever reason, members of the automaker’s Michigan research and design team took a stock Corolla iM (formerly the Scion iM) and entered it into a rally, possibly just to see what would happen. Then they entered it into another.

The rebadged iM, a sensible front-wheel-drive hatchback in funky clothing, competed alongside bonafide rally champions like the Subaru Impreza WRX and Ford Fiesta ST at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally in June.

By all accounts, it didn’t go well. Toyota describe the run as an “experiment,” as the team’s iM came straight from the assembly line with zero modifications. The Pennsylvania trail chewed it up bad, with exhaust system damage and other injuries reported. We assume the suspension took a beating, too.

Frankly, this would have been be fun to watch.

After surveying the damage, the team borrowed beefier suspension components from the Toyota parts bin and created a vehicle that could handle more than just the Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot. They also added a skid plate to protect the iM’s delicate underbelly.

This past weekend, the iM competed in Rally America’s Ojibwe Forests Rally in Minnesota, placing third in its class. Clearly, the suspension upgrade kept the vehicle in one piece, and the 137-horsepower 1.8-liter — while outclassed — didn’t blow up. The iM returns to the woods at the Lake Superior Performance Rally in October.

If you’re thinking that this experiment will pave the way for a rally-tuned iM variant (a product no one has asked for), dream on. There is a chance that Toyota might add some new aftermarket iM parts to its TRD catalog beyond just an air filter, oil cap and sway bar, but be happy with that, grocery getter.

[Image: Toyota]