Toyota’s Gazoo Racing wing has been on a roll for the last few years, bringing us the likes of the revived Supra (with the help of BMW), the upgraded GR 86 (with the help of Subaru), and the rally-ready GR Yaris and GR Corolla (all by themselves). Now, in an effort to further prove its performance pedigree, Toyota is showing off the mid-engine GR Yaris M concept at the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon.
Reminiscent of the iconic Renault Clio V-6, Toyota’s foray into the world of mid-engine hot hatchbacks stems from motorsports, as the racing wing of the Japanese brand is set to enter the concept model in the Super Taikyu series. Born in 1991, the Super Taikyu series is a national endurance racing series hinged on homologated models, featuring GT3, GT4, and TCR classes.
In Toyota’s case, the homologation of the mid-engine GR Yaris concept hinges on its new 2.0-liter, turbocharged inline-four-cylinder engine. Both the GR Yaris (which is not offered in the U.S.) and GR Corolla use a 1.6-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder heart, but Toyota says mounting this uprated engine underneath the hatchback shell will improve weight balance and driver experience, pushing the AWD model to the edge. We suspect power figures will rise versus existing models — but Toyota’s focus with this concept seems to be on balance.
“The team aims to implement ‘driver-first’ carmaking, in which cars are repeatedly driven to failure and then repaired in the extreme conditions of racing and in which feedback from Morizo, professional drivers, and gentleman drivers is thoroughly incorporated,” the release from Toyota reads.
Inside, there’s a web of roll-cage piping behind the driver on the GR Yaris M concept. Dual downward-facing exhaust pipes allow the pressurized air to exit the system while the turbocharger itself is centered in the rear hatch of the Yaris. Without the hood popped or the hatch open, you wouldn’t suspect anything was awry with this GR Yaris, but its mid-ship Renault inspiration was a sleeper in that same way.
Toyota’s potential entry into the Super Taikyu series isn’t unprecedented, as Toyota has previously raced a Corolla in the series, but the development of a mid-engine GR Yaris for the series at least signals some exciting innovation ahead for the brand. This sort of enthusiast excitement has been a facet of Toyota’s concept build as of late, with the SEMA-shown GR 86 GT-Four rally car catching our attention as well. It’s unlikely U.S. customers would ever see a potential production version of the mid-engine GR Yaris… but we’re on board with Toyota allowing us to have that dream.
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