Toyota GR Corolla is now even more capable, and UK-bound?

Given our admiration for the excellent Toyota GR Yaris, it’s no surprise we were miffed at the absence of the GR Corolla from the UK lineup when it was launched in 2022. Three years on, Toyota announced it would bring the car’s production to Britain at its plant near Derby from 2026, but without any confirmation as to whether the hot Corolla would be sold here. Now, with a right-hand drive overhaul out in the open, it’s looking more likely than ever that we might finally be able to buy the hot hatch on our soil.

Speaking with our sister site Auto Express earlier this year, Toyota’s European Chief Operating Officer Matt Harrison acknowledged that it would be odd to not sell a car in the market that makes it: ‘We have a philosophy that you build where you sell, so to build in Europe and not sell in Europe would be counter to that. The gap between supply and demand is now, so it’s about how quickly we can get it. We need to act fast.’

> Toyota GR Corolla – specs and availability

The move to build the car in the UK is a response to the huge demand for the GR Corolla, which has helped make the performance division the fastest growing brand in Toyota’s armoury. The market has consistently demanded more than the marque can supply, and so the UK site has been chosen as a new manufacturing location for the model. Toyota says that specifically for this newly updated car, it has ‘revised’ the supply system in order to enable as many deliveries as possible.

A recent announcement makes it clear that the brand is keen on supporting the platform for years to come (and for right-hand drive markets), revealing a not-insignificant overhaul for RHD cars sold in Japan. 

The changes include a significant increase in the use of structural adhesive, by over 70 per cent, boosting rigidity ‘for Japan’s most demanding circuits’ and of course, the Nürburgring. A new cool air duct has also been added, activated only at high engine speeds to pull air directly from the grille when it’s needed most, with tweaks to the synthetised interior engine sound also part of the package. 

Even existing GR Corolla owners will have the chance to upgrade their cars, with a software update set to launch for a bump in torque and recalibration of the all-wheel drive system.

Despite still not (yet) having confirmed it will sell the GR Corolla in the UK, Toyota has acknowledged that we’re a keen market for performance vehicles. In a statement, the firm said that its British plant has been chosen ‘on the basis of manufacturing capability and motorsport expertise,’ going on to say that the ‘deep motorsport culture and skill base within the United Kingdom’ also contributed to the decision. ‘The GR Corolla is bespoke, it doesn’t go through the normal processes,’ Harrison confirmed. Preparations are said to have begun in 2024, with the first car to roll off the line in 2026. 

Yoshihiro Nakata, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe, said: ‘We are proud that TMUK, our first plant in Europe, has also been selected as the first overseas Toyota plant to produce GR vehicles, securing this expansion project for TGR worldwide.’

Rumours of a UK debut began in 2024 when a prototype was caught doing laps at the Nürburgring. Most manufacturers test at the ‘ring, of course, but a European development regime could be a sign that the GR Corolla will finally be sold in UK showrooms. With the number of hot hatches that have departed showrooms of late – Renault Sport is gone, so too the Hyundai i30 N and i20 N and Ford Fiesta ST, with the Focus ST and Honda Civic Type R shortly to follow –  there’s something of an expanding void to be filled and demand to be satisfied.

One interesting new piece of information to note is that while the GR Corolla has been strictly for the US, Australian and Japanese markets until now, Toyota says new ‘details of the markets for sales’ will come at a later date in a recent statement. Fingers crossed some of these British-built hatches are diverted away from the docks and onto our roads instead…