At the time of disclosure Toyota GR Corolla 2023We spent a few minutes with Toyota’s chief engineer on the project, Naoyuki Sakamoto, to learn about some of the challenges in developing the car and what he thinks makes it likely to go in the right direction.
CD: Everyone here in the United States is very jealous of Yaris GR. How long after Yaris does the team start GR Corolla?
NS: Actually, we started developing the GR Corolla in 2018. So before Yaris, we worked on it. I’d say we’re developing both cars almost at the same time.
The GR Corolla uses a three-cylinder engine. Is it designed for the Yaris and tuning, or is it planned for the original Corolla?
The Corolla is using the Yaris engine, but to bring it to the US market we thought we would need more power, so we started making modifications to make that possible. Americans demand power.
We are like that. If horsepower is a goal, why stick with three cylinders? Wouldn’t it be easier to supercharge a four-cylinder?
In fact, the engine is compact enough for a sports car. The closer you can keep the heavy parts to the center of gravity, the better it handles, so a lighter engine is better. A lighter car is better.
How much does the Circuit version weigh?
3200 pounds.
So to get more power, what did you do? You didn’t drill or stroke it, it’s the same size as the Yaris’s engine, but what, 30 more horses? And a triple cylinder needs a balancer shaft, right? And this is the dual camera?
Yes, 300, up from 268 hp. We have increased the pressure and to do that we need to reduce the back pressure. We need to put more fuel in, more exhaust, and it creates high back pressure. And yes, a balance shaft, and double cams, of course.
How do you keep things cool?
We did a lot of testing along the way, in the summer, in the winter. We opened up the grille, you can see, it’s huge for an antique Corolla. Vents to guide air through. Even the intake manifold, we have a thin intake manifold for slow speeds, to move air quickly, and another duct underneath that opens at higher rpm, to let more air into the engine.
Is the whole frame and body any different from the old Corolla?
Reinforced chassis, 349 more welds and 2.7 meters more sealant, more glue. The floor is different in the back from the warehouse, to make room for the difference. We also moved the battery from front to back for better weight distribution. The front fender is one piece, the rear extension is bolted. The carbon roof is only for the GR. The doors are like an antique car. The suspension shape for the front uses a new connection point, 15mm higher to make the roll center of gravity higher and we’ve made it stiffer but also lighter, just in design.
And is the GR-Four, AWD, a performance version of what customers will get, an RAV4?
[NS laughs and brings over the AWD specialist, who also laughs]. It’s the GR system that’s exclusive to this vehicle in the United States. It was developed through races, from our race series. It will provide a variety of acceleration control capabilities under different conditions.
Opt for forged carbon fiber for the roof over woven carbon fiber because it helps keep the price down, or because it’s fashionable and new?
Both!
Are you tired of talking about this car yet?
Is not! I’m excited about it. We built it with a lot of passion.
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