Tuned Yaris is Getting 472 HP Out of Just Three Cylinders
The Yaris GR was only offered to the public so Toyota could race in the WRC, and this one is totally bonkers.
Most of the time here on YotaTech, we tend to focus on the the Tacoma, the Tundra, or the Land Cruiser, with the occasional Lexus thrown in for good measure. But every once in a while, another type of Toyota pops up on the old radar, and it’s so bonkers cool not mentioning it seems impossible. Well friends, this Yaris GR is just such a find. Because while this homologation special is a pocket rocket right out of the box, the mad scientists at Powertune Australia have taken this one into the stratosphere.
Now, if you’re not familiar with the Yaris GR, it’s the kind of forbidden fruit that makes stateside folks pine for life in Old World Europe, because it was never available on our shores. Like so many great cars — think Lancia Stratos — of the past, it was only offered to the public so Toyota could campaign it in the World Rally Championship, as the regulations say 25,000 road-worthy versions have to be produced. In stock trim, it’s making a 268 horsepower from its little 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder.
In something the size of a shopping cart, that’s already a wicked amount of poke. But the one on the dyno in this video is making a whopping 472 horsepower, thanks to a fat snail pushing a dizzying 36 pounds of boost, a massive intercooler, and a fuel system that spews E85 like a busted fire hydrant. According to owner Andrew Hawkins from Motive Video, the engine’s internals — almost unbelievably — are still bone stock, which speaks to just how stout the little mill is. Given those numbers, you have to wonder what it would take to throw a piston through the block.
Hawkins bills this Yaris as the quickest one in the world, and given that a previous 362-horspower tune allowed him to run the quarter mile in just 11.7 seconds, I don’t doubt that statement at all. Watch the video to hear this micro machine wail on the dyno, and stay tuned for more on this high-strung Yaris over the next few months. He’s getting it ready to compete in the World Time Attack, which should make for loads of entertaining content.
Photos: YouTube