TOYOTA PAVES WAY FOR NEXT-GEN ICE-POWERED GR YARIS

Toyota is priming a new hybrid powertrain for its GR models, giving the Japanese company’s sporting sub-brand a new lease of life in an era of strict emissions regulations.

- WILL RIMELL

This set-up will be based on a new turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is currently in development.

For the next generation of sporty Toyotas, a 2.0-litre variant will be used. This is currently being piloted in the mid-engined GR Yaris M Concept, with engineers stress-testing the prototype engine “to failure”. The new unit can support both mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid set-ups and features a shorter piston stroke than Toyota’s current engines, making it smaller and lighter.

This is important, suggested Hiroyuki Yamada, a GR engineer working on the project, because it means a hybrid element can be fitted with minimal weight penalty. He said: "We can use hybrid for future cars [which use this engine]. We will use it in our motorsport activities in the future because of emissions.