Toyota GR Corolla 2026 News

If you’ve been holding out for the arrival of Toyota’s newest toy, the GRMN version of the Corolla hot hatch, you’ll need to dig a little deeper than you expected.Pricing for the 2027 Toyota GRMN Corolla has been announced in the US, and it’s in prohibitively expensive territory.Toyota USA this week confirmed an MSRP of US$64,360, which directly converts to A$91,500. But that’s not how much you should expect to pay.While pricing between markets can be hard to predict before confirmation, looking at similarly priced cars in the US can provide some insight into the likely cost of the limited number of GRMN Corolla expected for Australia.In the US, the GRMN Corolla sits around the same price as the Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Audi S5 and BMW M2, as pointed out by US outlet Road and Track.In Australia, the Mustang Dark Horse costs $104,990, the standard Audi S5 $114,900 and the BMW M2 is $128,100.Previous Australian estimates had put the GRMN Corolla in the range of around $80,000 to $90,000.This isn’t a confirmation the rare hot hatch will crack six-figures when it lands in Australia, but it would be surprising to see its price start with a ‘9’.Confirmed in early June for a limited Australian run, the Toyota GRMN Corolla is a dialled-up GR Corolla, with the same 221kW but more 8Nm torque (total 408Nm) at the driver’s disposal thanks to the 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine (a.k.a the G16E-GTS). The high-output engine sends power to all four wheels via an adjustable rally-like all-wheel drive system which has also been retuned for the GRMN.Aero elements, suspension and chassis components, and the styling and interior have all been revamped and upgraded for the GRMN Corolla, to some extent justifying the exorbitant price.Developed both on the Nurburgring but also through Toyota’s participation in Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance racing series, the GRMN Corolla will be built in a run of only 730 units worldwide.It will be available in Australia in a currently unknown number of cars from 2027.‘Gazoo Racing tuned by the Meister of Nürburgring’ is a bit of a mouthful, but it is an elevated tier of Toyota’s performance car division that leans even more on Toyota’s motorsport experience.Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda has said that any car wearing the GRMN badge can’t just be a sportier version of its donor model, but that “if it bears the GRMN name, it must be able to run the Nürburgring properly”. Significant testing on the Nürburgring is part of the development process, and usually a limited production run is the result of said development.The GR Yaris had a 500-unit run of GRMN editions with increased outputs and upgraded aero and chassis components in 2022, while before the GR Yaris existed a ‘Yaris GRMN’ was built two limited runs (2013 and 2017) and used either a turbocharged or supercharged engine.

This car will change everything you thought about the humble Toyota Corolla.On the eve of the Corolla’s 60th birthday, the Japanese giant has confirmed the GRMN Corolla is headed Down Under.Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations John Pappas said the new GRMN Corolla is the best of both worlds.“This is truly our GR philosophy in action, and has produced an astonishing high-performance driver’s car that is as at home on the racetrack as it is on the road,” he said.It takes the already red-hot GR Corolla hot hatch, and turns the dial all the way up.Spawned from Japan’s Super Taikyu race series and tuned and tweaked at the Nurburgring race track in Germany — dubbed the Green Hell — the GRMN is the brand’s most driver-focused Corolla of all time.The GRMN has just two seats and a rocket of a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine delivering 221kW and 408Nm.It has upgraded front and rear suspension and fatter Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber for improved performance on track.Toyota has optimised the all-wheel drive set-up for improved torque delivery and tweaked the power steering to give more feedback during high speed cornering.The Corolla GRMN is leaner than the standard manual GR Corolla, having lost 40kg. There is also a unique instrument panel for greater driver concentration and GRMN design touches throughout.Exterior updates include bonnet and fender ducts for increased ventilation, front side spoiler and large rear wing with five step adjustment for increased aerodynamics.It is only available in two colours: matt black or khaki.Toyota Australia said the Corolla GRMN will arrive in limited numbers from 2027.

Toyota is looking to accelerate into the future at full speed, leaving its ‘whitegoods on wheels’ image trailing in the dust.And it all stems from the top down, with Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda allowing his love of performance cars and motorsport to trickle down across its entire global operation - including Australia.Toyota’s performance sub-brand, Gazoo Racing (GR), began life as Toyoda’s personal racing team. As he put his own mark on the company his grandfather founded during his time as Toyota President, GR became more and more prominent. Under his leadership Toyota revived its sports car program, launching the GR 86 and GR Supra, as well as launching the GR Yaris and GR Corolla hot hatches.Even after stepping down as president in 2023, Toyoda’s influence continues to be felt across the company. John Pappas, Toyota Australia’s Vice President National Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations, said that Toyoda’s focus on ensuring the brand changed its image has impacted many local decisions.“Akio’s philosophy actually is all about producing ever better cars,” Pappas said. “He actually talks about that. I'm pretty sure you can look him up talking about ever better cars some time ago when we went through this great phase.“I look at it and I think that just inspires all of us globally to continue to build, particularly the GR brand in this case. To see how the GR brand's evolved from 2015 globally to where it is today, and the various products now that form within GR, like the GR 86 and the GR Supra, the GR Yaris, the GR Corolla. We love to see that expansion and what we've seen today, the trajectory we're on, we continue to build on the GR brand. So, absolutely, we want to continue to build on that.”This includes the decision from Pappas’ predecessor in his role, Sean Hanley, greenlighting Toyota’s entry into the local Supercars racing series with a V8-powered GR Supra. Hanley admitted at the time that the company had been evaluating a racing entry for more than 20 years and the rise of GR made it the right time to finally commit.So much so that the highly-expensive racing program isn’t focused purely on increasing Toyota’s sales volume but rather to promote the GR brand both externally and internally to continue the path Toyoda set the brand on.“ Look for us, actually, this is not about selling more cars,” Pappas said. “It's actually more about building the GR brand, building on the GR brand. And it's really more about what I said before about just learning. Learning to build better cars, better people.“They're the two key things for us. Right? This is not about more sales and trying to sell more cars. It's about building better vehicles, better people, and building the GR brand.”

Toyota’s local arm has confirmed it is bringing to Australia the updated GR Corolla announced just weeks ago for Japan.

Toyota has revealed an update for the GR Corolla in its home nation, bringing a sharper-driving and better-sounding car, the brand said.On top of that, Toyota said it has addressed “the supply system for the Japanese-market model” so that the updated 2026 Toyota GR Corolla will be more readily available than previous model years.The “partially improved” GR Corolla has been bestowed with more structural adhesive, an increase of 13.9 metres of application compared to the 18.8 before, totalling 32.7 metres of adhesive in the hot hatch.Toyota said this will “enhance body rigidity while minimising weight increase” to account for more intense track driving. Toyota said it has found overseas circuits generate “more intense vertical and lateral G-forces than circuits in Japan”.To stabilise the G16E-GTS engine’s temperature and outputs, a “high-engine-speed-activated cool air duct” has been added as part of the secondary intake, which draws in air “directly from the front grille” from outside where the air is cooler than in the engine bay.The cooler air will help keep the turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine more regularly able to achieve its maximum 221kW and 400Nm.Finally, Toyota said it’s improved the JBL sound system to deliver what it calls an “emotional motorsports-evoking sound experience even during city driving”.A subwoofer now brings total speakers from eight up to nine, meaning GR Corollas with the JBL sound system come with Active Sound Control, which uses synthesised “sporty sounds” that match the car’s acceleration and engine speed. It also mimics the anti-lag exhaust ‘burble’.As of now, the update is only confirmed for Japan, though as with many changes to the brand’s GR models, it’s likely to hit other markets next time an update is due. Toyota Australia launched an update for the GR Corolla and GR Yaris earlier in 2025.Toyota is also expected to reveal a hotter version of the Corolla to sit above it, potentially as a more limited-edition version under its GRMN badge - a model which had been leaked earlier this week from a dealer event in North America.