Toyota GR Corolla Leaked Ahead of Official Debut

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Launching a new vehicle under embargo must be a stressful endeavor for all those who are involved on the OEM side.

Take the Toyota GR Corolla. The brand has been so careful to build up interest via teases, and has plans to take the wraps off tonight — and it all got spoiled by some careless management of the company’s consumer Web site.

We’ll write up the official unveil tomorrow, but the key specs and features should match what the leak reveals. That means the car will have a 1.6-liter turbo-four (UPDATE: It’s probably a three-cylinder. My bad.) with 300 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque, a six-speed “intelligent” stick (we’re not sure what that means — maybe rev-matching?), all-wheel drive with a torque split that can range from 50/50 to 30/70 (percent) front to rear, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, front and rear Torsen limited-slip differentials, three drive modes (normal, sport, and track), functional exterior vents for aerodynamics and cooling, a different gauge cluster, a forged carbon-fiber roof, a vented hood, matte black 18-inch wheels, and Ultrasuede and synthetic leather-trimmed seats.

Expect to see those same specs and more listed when the actual wraps come off. For now, gaze upon the car in all its unhidden glory.

[Images: Toyota]

Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Kcflyer Kcflyer on Apr 01, 2022

    So it is a type R with AWD and both port and direct injection.....win!

  • Tylanner Tylanner on Apr 01, 2022

    drool worthy...ICEs going out with a BANG.

    • See 2 previous
    • Superdessucke Superdessucke on Apr 01, 2022

      @ToolGuy Yeah, the more I think about it, the less likely I am to believe that average people are going be able to get their hands this. Unless you scored some PPP funds, you'll have to admire this one from afar, and close your eyes from the driver's seat of your Rav-4 and pretend.

  • MaintenanceCosts "GLX" with the 2.slow? I'm confused. I thought that during the Mk3 and Mk4 era "GLX" meant the car had a VR6.
  • Dr.Nick What about Infiniti? Some of those cars might be interesting, whereas not much at Nissan interest me other than the Z which is probably big bucks.
  • Dave Holzman My '08 Civic (stick, 159k on the clock) is my favorite car that I've ever owned. If I had to choose between the current Civic and Corolla, I'd test drive 'em (with stick), and see how they felt. But I'd be approaching this choice partial to the Civic. I would not want any sort of automatic transmission, or the turbo engine.
  • Merc190 I would say Civic Si all the way if it still revved to 8300 rpm with no turbo. But nowadays I would pick the Corolla because I think they have a more clear idea on their respective models identity and mission. I also believe Toyota has a higher standard for quality.
  • Dave Holzman I think we're mixing up a few things here. I won't swear to it, but I'd be damned surprised if they were putting fire retardant in the seats of any cars from the '50s, or even the '60s. I can't quite conjure up the new car smell of the '57 Chevy my parents bought on October 17th of that year... but I could do so--vividly--until the last five years or so. I loved that scent, and when I smelled it, I could see the snow on Hollis Street in Cambridge Mass, as one or the other parent got ready to drive me to nursery school, and I could remember staring up at the sky on Christmas Eve, 1957, wondering if I might see Santa Claus flying overhead in his sleigh. No, I don't think the fire retardant on the foam in the seats of 21st (and maybe late 20th) century cars has anything to do with new car smell. (That doesn't mean new car small lacked toxicity--it probably had some.)
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