Toyota GR Yaris Morizo RR is the 911 GT3 RS of hot hatchbacks
Limited run GR Yaris Morizo RR was inspired by its Nürburging 24 hour performance and championed by the company boss.
While European car manufacturers despair at meagre electric crossover sales having dispensed with the legacy models people actually want, Toyota has stayed diverse, still offering with what it's known for. To that end it's launched another special version of its brilliant hot hatch. Meet the Toyota GR Yaris Morizo RR.
Limited to 200 units - 100 for Japan with the rest destined for as yet unconfirmed European markets - the Morizo RR is the result of Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda competing in 2025’s N24 race in an eight-speed auto GR Yaris with Rookie Racing and deciding to push the road car it was based on to another level of special. Similar to Porsche’s Andreas Prueninger taking a 911 GT3 and creating the RS. Kind of.
The three-cylinder turbocharged 1.6-litre engine remains untouched to produce 276bhp and 288lb ft of torque, and the ratios within the eight-speed auto are the same as in the regular car. Where Toyota Gazoo Racing and Rookie Racing (who run the N24 Yaris and have helped with the development of the road car) have been busy is under the GR Yaris’ three-door body.
There are new dampers bespoke to the Morizo RR designed to improve on-road performance on more undulating surfaces such as the Nürburgring. Which also means they should work well in the UK. The electric power steering has also been upgraded to match the car’s new chassis behaviour.
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One change that has been made to the drivetrain is the replacement of the Gravel setting for the four-wheel drive system with a Morizo setting. This new setting sets the torque split to 50/50 front and rear, where the Gravel setting in a regular GR Yaris has a 53/47 split. The 50/50 split matches the GR Corolla.
The GR Yaris Morizo RR also sits on a new set of bronze finished 18-inch wheels, with the prototype on display at the Tokyo Motor Show where it made its debut fitted with a set of 225/40R18 Bridgestone Potenza R tyres. The yellow brakes calipers are also unique to the model.
Having revealed the GR Yaris Aero Performance model in October last year, the Morizo RR goes another step further with its aero upgrades, if not anywhere near as far as the mid-engined Yaris M concept. Fixed to its rear a new, much larger full carbon-fibre WRC Rally 2 style rear wing, that generates genuine downforce according to Toyota. It will certainly cut out any lift and those new dampers have also been tuned accordingly to match. There’s also a new front splitter and side sills and the bonnet is also made from carbon fibre.
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Inside the Rally2 vibe continues with an Alcantara finish for the thinner steering wheel, which now features buttons inspired by the firm’s rally cars for better and more intuitive use.
Yes it will be built in tiny numbers and undoubtedly the price premium above the regular GR Yaris’s £44,250 will be steep (don’t expect much change from £65-70,000), but in a world of homogenised cars that appeal as much as a bowl of tofu in a steak restaurant, a hot hatch created because the boss thought it would a cool thing to do should be celebrated. You never know, other CEOs and Chairmen might remember that fostering car enthusiasm leads to sales too.
