“Limited to 500 units and a flood of reservations! The spirit of the special machine “”GRMN Yaris”” can be injected into the GR Yaris! High expectations for “”GRMN Parts
Over 10,000 Reservations Flooded for Limited Number of 500 GRMN Yaris!
The “”GRMN Yaris,”” a limited-quantity model first unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 and scheduled to go on sale in the summer of 2022, has received 12,000 to 13,000 business applications for the limited edition of 500 units.
GRMN Yaris owners drool over the GRMN Yaris and special GRMN parts .
Over 10,000 Reservations Flooded for Limited Number of 500 GRMN Yaris!
The “”GRMN Yaris,”” a limited-quantity model first unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 and scheduled to go on sale in the summer of 2022, has received 12,000 to 13,000 business applications for the limited edition of 500 units.
GRMN Yaris owners drool over the GRMN Yaris and special GRMN parts
We hear that the winners have been contacted and the contracts are going well. Of course, there are some cancellations, so some people have been notified of their winners being moved up, but the author (Shinya Yamamoto) has yet to hear from any of them.
Circuit driving is fun! Toyota’s “”GRMN Yaris,”” a limited edition of 500 units for which more than 10,000 people have expressed their wishes.
Yes, the author has also applied for a GRMN Yaris business meeting.
When I mentioned this to a colleague, he said, “”Shinya-san is sure to win, isn’t he? I had faint hopes, but the GR is not a sweet car.
In other words, a strict lottery was conducted. So, those who didn’t win can only watch with their fingers in their mouths.
No, that is not true. Those who applied for the GRMN Yaris, including myself, received a letter from President Akio Toyoda, which reads as follows (parentheses in parentheses are my addition).
The letter reads, “”For those who will soon have a GRMN Yaris as a partner, please feel the potential of this car on the race circuit, as it is a vehicle that can be used as is in motorsports.
Also, for those of you who unfortunately do not, we will be selling GR parts (GRMN parts) that will allow you to feel the ‘drive’ and ‘throb’ of the GRMN Yaris (catalog model), so please enjoy it.””
What kind of GRMN parts lineup do you have in store?
The development theme is simply “”opening up the GRMN””.
However, it is not just a horizontal development of parts for the GRMN Yaris, but rather tuning with professional drivers to best suit the GR Yaris, taking into consideration differences in tires, body reinforcement, and vehicle weight.
The “”carbon fiber hood”” and “”carbon fiber wing”” are available for the exterior.
The carbon fiber hood is not only lighter in weight, but also has additional ducts for better cooling effect.
The carbon wing is one of the items that I personally have been waiting for.
In fact, the front, side, and rear underspoilers installed on the GRMN Yaris Circuit Package are commercially available as GR parts for the GR Yaris, and many GR Yaris owners, including myself, have installed them, but I was concerned that the aerodynamic balance was slightly toward the front. It is a good news that such aerodynamic balance can be optimized.
Limited to 500 units and a flood of reservations! The spirit of the special machine “”GRMN Yaris”” can be injected into the GR Yaris! High expectations for “”GRMN Parts
Expectations are very high, and so are hopes.
The interior features an ultrasuede steering wheel/side brake lever and a shift knob. This is similar in design to the GRMN Yaris, but is actually an exclusive item with a different stitching pattern.
In addition, Recaro full bucket seats are also available. These have the same shape as the seats installed in the GRMN Yaris, but unfortunately, the stitching is only “”red.
In fact, the GR Yaris, except for the special edition “”First Edition”” with emotional interior, comes with silver stitching, so the interior coordination is not quite right.
In addition, those who have selected the optional heated seats will not be able to use the function.
Toyota’s GRMN Yaris “”Rally Package”” undergoing test driving on a dirt course.
As for the mechanical part, a “”suspension kit”” featuring Bilstein damping force-adjustable dampers has been added to the lineup.
The kit is a special setup that takes into account the differences in the body of the GR Yaris (which has fewer spot welds than the GRMN Yaris) and the tires used (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S).
Incidentally, the author has not driven the GRMN Yaris on public roads, but when asked by development drivers Hiroaki Ishiura and Kazuya Oshima, they told me, “”The ride is more comfortable than you might imagine.
If this is the case, the author is also very curious to know how this suspension rides. The cross transmission and low final gear of the GRMN Yaris are already available as GR parts for competition use.
The lineup will be announced around the summer of 2022.
Does this mean that there will be more to come?
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Finally, as a GR Yaris user, I have a few requests.
Two years have passed since its release, and various parts have been released by third parties. That is why I would like to see more GRMN parts that “”only a manufacturer can make! For example, we would like to see more items that can only be made by the manufacturer.
For example, power output/torque increase by updating powertrain control, or body reinforcement items that approach GRMN’s body rigidity. A device like the Lexus RC F that uses GPS to cut the limiter only on circuits, or an app that allows the driver to check various vehicle information using the display audio system, and so on.
Furthermore, I would like to see items that not only bring the Yaris closer to the GRMN Yaris, but also further utilize the good points of the GR Yaris.
Incidentally, I use the GR Yaris as a “”high-speed express”” when traveling to various circuits for interviews, so I don’t want other performance (especially comfort performance) to be sacrificed in order to improve the driving performance.
For example, even if a cross-transmission and low final gear are adopted, why not use the same gear ratio for the 6th gear as in the normal model to provide comfort for high-speed cruising?
Also, in order to make the most of the high quality JBL audio system that comes as standard equipment in the RZ “”High performance”” model, we would like to see sound insulation parts that minimize the weight increase.
We would be happy to see an item like this that offers both high performance and comfort.
* * *
So, what will the author do?
It would be a bit frustrating to make it a “”GRMN Yaris Replica”” by fully installing GRMN parts, so I would like to make it the one and only “”Yamamoto Edition”” while examining GRMN parts and third party parts.
The theme is to successfully add the driving pleasure of the GRMN Yaris without compromising the comfort and convenience of the GR Yaris as a road car (JBL audio, Toyota Safety Sense, etc.). We will report on this as well when we have a chance.
Shinya Yamamoto”