Toyota GR Corolla hot hatch is on the way to the UK
The success of the GR Yaris has persuaded Toyota that there’s room in its UK range for the high performance Corolla
Toyota is lining up its rally-bred GR Corolla for UK launch in the next 18 months, with the four-wheel drive hot hatch expected to join the much-lauded GR Yaris on UK roads.
The Japanese brand has previously confirmed that the 296bhp Corolla will enter production at Toyota's UK plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire next year to help address lengthy global waiting lists, but is yet to say that the car, currently built only at a single factory in Japan, will be sold in Europe.
But talking exclusively to Auto Express, Toyota’s European COO Matt Harrison dropped thinly veiled hints that British hot hatch fans won’t be disappointed.
“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,” he said. “The gap between supply and demand is now, so it’s about how quickly we can get it. We need to act fast.”
The Burnaston site was chosen because, as well as its factory capacity, the UK has motorsport expertise that aligns with the specialist nature of the low-volume performance hatchback. “The GR Corolla is bespoke, it doesn’t go through the normal processes”, Harrison told us.
The GR Corolla was originally launched in 2022 in selected markets outside Europe, and it uses the same 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, four-wheel drive and torque vectoring system that has made the GR Yaris one of the hottest performance properties of recent years. Subject to the expected green light, prices for the GR Corolla are likely to kick off from over £40,000, although we’ll have to wait until 2026 for full pricing and specification.
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