Toyota News: Toyota Could Hot Up the Corolla Hatchback

[William Maley]

Toyota is reading to launch their high-performance sub-brand GAZOO Racing (GR) with the upcoming Toyota Supra - debuting next week at the Detroit Auto Show. But what comes next?

"We have lots of requests from different countries, so it's really, really challenging to decide on the order [of performance models]," said Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer of the Toyota 86 and Supra.

"It's not just Hyundai. Other car brands are doing this too, so we are researching this and we have to create the brand strategy."

According to Carsales, Australian executives are pushing hard for a GR version of the Corolla Hatchback to bring the fight to the Hyundai i30N hatchback. No mention was made as to what could be changed, but we're guessing some changes to the suspension and possibly some sort of forced-induction. But judging from Tada's comments, this may be one idea relegated to the back for some time.

Source: Carsales.com.au

 

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[David]

That ASS is just pathetic, I believe there is a market for people wanting a performance hatchback, but that just screams ugly prius. Toyota styling lately is just pathetic, but I let the sales numbers speak for themselves. Wait and see.

[Drew Dowdell]

They either have to go really hot or not bother at all.   I'm guessing they won't bother at all. 

[regfootball]

FUGLY

[balthazar]

The problem right off the bat is the name- 'corolla'. It makes vanilla taste like chocolate- it's about the worst nameplate baggage one could chose to try and make something 'hot'.

[Robert Hall]

There have been sporty versions of the Corolla in the past..over 30 years ago w/ the SR5 (AE86 Trueno) hatchback, and the FX16 hatchback, for example. 

[oldshurst442]

The Matrix not too long ago as well.

 

 

Edited January 10, 2019 by oldshurst442

[balthazar]

Don't forget the formidable 'S'.

[oldshurst442]

The formidable 'S' he says.  LOL

No on the formidable 'S',  but the three cars mentioned that were Corollas, but sporty Corollas did in fact exist.  And at least 1 of those has a cult following. 

Yes, it is a stretch to think of Toyota as a hot, speedy car company as a whole let alone the Corolla, but there is a history of hot Corolla hatchbacks AND hot, speedy Toyotas as a whole...

Toyota did say they wanted to start offering more fun and sporty cars about 2 years ago or so. 

The Supra is coming back. 

Toyota already set the ball rolling for fun cars with the Toyota GT86.  

Whether Toyota succeeds in doing a hot hatch Corolla engineering wise and whether Toyota succeeds in selling this hot hatch to the masses is the question I gather. But there has been sporty Corollas in the past is what we are saying. 

 

[balthazar]

• supra is 17 years gone now : all it's buyers are -if toyota is lucky enough to somehow have retained them- profiling in avalons now. And it returns (and I'll have to believe the hipshot 'too little too late' comment applies) on the cusp of The Great Disengagement of Driving. Or will it be a careening, drifting steering wheel-less-only ride??

• A handful of people 'cult following' an obscure 'hot' corolla does not make the corolla 'hot'. 350K per year of kick-to-the-curb rental vanillas. It's literally the LCD of motordom. I believe I've 'astral projection driven' right thru hundreds in my time.

Edited January 10, 2019 by balthazar

[David]

4 minutes ago, balthazar said:

• supra is 17 years gone now- all it's buyers are -if toyota is lucky enough to somehow have retained them)- profiling in avalons now. And it returns (and I'll have to believe the hipshot 'too little too late' comment applies) on the cusp of The Great Disengagement of Driving. Or will it be a careening, drifting steering wheel-less-only ride??

• A handful of people 'cult following' an obscure 'hot' corolla does not make the corolla 'hot'. 350K per year of kick-to-the-curb rental vanillas. It's literally the LCD of motordom. I believe I've 'astral projection driven' right thru hundreds in my time.

So true as I love the R33 and R34 Skyline but the Nissan GTR is not the Godzilla Skyline of the past. Different era, different dynamic. I agree with you about the Hot Corolla.

[daves87rs]

Baby power wagon....LOL

[balthazar]

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

There have been sporty versions of the Corolla in the past..over 30 years ago w/ the SR5 (AE86 Trueno) hatchback, and the FX16 hatchback, for example. 

Are you suuuuuuuure you didn't mean to type 'souless, generic, FWD, appliance garbage'?

[Robert Hall]

Actually, old Corollas like the AE86 were RWD...

[riviera74]

15 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Actually, old Corollas like the AE86 were RWD...

Then Toyota switched the Corolla to FWD to save $$$$$$.

[Robert Hall]

22 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

Then Toyota switched the Corolla to FWD to save $$$$$$.

Ya, they had a strange transition period in the mid 80s where the sedans and wagons were FWD while the 2 and 3dr hatchbacks were RWD.   At some points during the 80s, Toyota had like 5-6 different Corolla body styles in the US..different era.