A couple of months back, there were rumours that Toyota would build a Yaris hot hatch to celebrate its upcoming return to the World Rally Championship. Turns out, as this new teaser sketch from the Japanese brand confirms, those rumours were true.
The brand released the sketch – which shows a three-door body, large alloys, a low ride-height and a cheeky rear spoiler – after Toyota Gazoo Racing officially launched the 280 kW Yaris WRC (pictured below), which will take part in the opening event of the 2017 season in Monte Carlo towards the end of January.
Toyota says it will draw on the experience of its “full-blooded return to the World Rally Championship to develop and improve its road car technology, and expand the Yaris range with a new performance-focused model”.
Although its moniker is not yet confirmed, numerous reports suggest that the new hot hatch – which will do battle with the likes of the Ford Fiesta ST and Volkswagen Polo GTI – will be called the Toyota Yaris Gazoo, taking its name from the automaker’s motorsport arm. Like the WRC contender, it is expected to employ a 1,6-litre turbocharged petrol engine.
No official word yet on when we’ll see the production version, but chances are it will be in the first few months of 2017.