GAZOO Racing held world premiere of GRMN Corolla—the ultimate GR Corolla engineered to deliver confident, full-throttle experience on Germany’s Nürburgring racetrack, the starting point for both GR and Toyota Master Driver Morizo.
GRMN Corolla represents comprehensive honing of GR Corolla ignited by Morizo’s strong desire to “bring back a Corolla that captivates our customers.”
GRMN Corolla is to be available in limited quantities, primarily in Japan, North America, and Australia. In Japan, plans are to accept sales negotiation requests via “GR app” smartphone application from around autumn 2026, with sales scheduled to begin in 2027. The new model is displayed at Fuji Motorsports Forest Welcome Center until June 28.
Development at World’s Most Grueling Circuit
Spurred by stance of Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman and Master Driver Akio Toyoda (a.k.a. Morizo) stating “If it’s going to bear GRMN name, it needs to be a car that can duly handle the Nürburgring,” development team honed GRMN Corolla on what is said to be world’s most grueling race course. Going all out on Nürburgring—which provides road inputs and surface variations not found on regular test courses—highlights a car’s weaknesses.
Developing GRMN Corolla at Nürburgring enabled crafting a car that can be controlled at will at all speeds, even on rough surfaces. Development included track testing at Nürburgring, participation in Japan’s Super Taikyu Series, and validation using advanced driving simulators.
It was driving at Nürburgring that brought unexpected challenges to fore. Development team overcame those challenges pursuing achievement of high level of car-driver unity.
Aerodynamic Performance Tested in Competition
GRMN Corolla features exclusively developed aerodynamic performance parts for enhanced road holding across all four wheels under high speeds and high g-forces.
Hood duct, fender ducts, front side spoilers, and rear wing incorporate know-how gained from racing, tested on hydrogen engine-powered GR Corolla competing in Super Taikyu Series. Based on all-inclusive Super Taikyu Series trial and error, fine-tuning came at Nürburgring.
This effort included adjusting rear wing angle, which features five-step adjustment mechanism, in 1-degree increments during driving tests with professional drivers to verify effectiveness and determine optimal specification.
Exclusive Suspension and Tire Configuration
GRMN Corolla’s suspension employs exclusive front and rear monotube shock absorbers with rebound springs for improved inner-wheel traction during cornering and enhanced high-speed cornering performance.
Nürburgring road surface includes environments inducing significant vertical suspension travel beyond that experienced on typical circuits. To ensure high stability for confident driving even in such conditions, extensive Nürburgring test runs facilitated optimization of bump-stop characteristics. Exclusive shock absorbers were developed by adjusting stroke down to millimeter at front and rear for optimal balance.
For enhanced cornering stability and braking performance, GRMN Corolla sports 245/40ZR18 “Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2” high-grip tires, which are 10 mm wider than those on base vehicle. Control program of GRMN Corolla’s EPS (electric power steering) has been modified from base vehicle to generate required amount of assistance torque even during cornering under high g-forces.
Exclusively tuned 4WD control system provides optimal rear torque distribution during straight-line driving and enhanced stability at onset of steering input at extremely high speeds.
Torque Enhancement and Thermal Management
Applying insights gained from competing in Super Taikyu Series with hydrogen engine-powered GR Corolla enabled GRMN Corolla to achieve maximum engine torque of 415 Nm, 15 Nm greater than base vehicle.
Development team optimized GRMN Corolla’s engine characteristics by analyzing range of engine use during circuit driving, focusing on increasing torque in 3,600-4,800 rpm mid-speed range, which is crucial for accelerating out of corners.
To maintain stable, high engine output even during continuous full-throttle driving, GRMN Corolla comes with intercooler spray system in addition to cool-air duct added to 2026 GR Corolla.
Weight Reduction and Performance Optimization
In pursuit of even higher level of performance and “untamed energy that captivates customers,” GRMN Corolla has no rear seats as part of effort to achieve thorough weight reduction. Power-to-weight ratio has been improved by reducing weight by 30 kilograms compared to base vehicle, providing customers with unparalleled driving experience.
Custom Cockpit Design for Driver Engagement
GRMN Corolla boasts exclusively tuned driving performance and specially designed cockpit featuring driver’s seat and instrument panel meticulously crafted to enable customers to unlock value of genuine driving performance.
Custom-designed full bucket driver’s seat was based on driving position in Super Taikyu Series race cars to achieve holding performance capable of withstanding higher lateral g-forces. Carefully adjusted seat length facilitates clutch operation, and seat’s glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) construction helps reduce weight.
Development involved installing seat in car competing in Super Taikyu Series and incorporating feedback from various professional drivers, including evaluations conducted while wearing helmet. Cockpit’s design and meticulously considered color scheme create space enabling driver to focus more fully on driving and features exclusive flocked instrument panel and flocked front pillars.
Carbon-fiber ornamentation—developed and manufactured by Carbon Section at Toyota Motor Corporation’s Motomachi Plant—adorns instrument panel on passenger side. Special items include instrument panel padding bearing Morizo’s signature, door trim and shift knob accented in Alumite Red, and GRMN-exclusive serial number plate.
Product Lineup and Future Development
Beyond 2-seater GRMN Corolla, 5-seater MORIZO RR version equipped with GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission is currently being developed. GR has applied insights gained from GRMN Corolla development to evolution of base GR Corolla.
For 2026 GR Corolla announced in September 2025 and launched November that year, application of structural adhesive was extended by 13.9 meters to 32.7 meters to reinforce body structure, and added cool-air duct reduces rise in intake air temperature during high-load driving.