New Toyota GR Yaris Debuts at Goodwood Speedweek
The new Toyota GR Yaris made its global debut at the Goodwood Speedweek, the no-spectator replacement event for the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Typically, world-class drivers and auto enthusiasts gather at the Goodwood Festival of Speed every year in July to celebrate cars and motorsports. The 2020 festival was postponed to next year or later because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in its stead was held the Goodwood Speedweek, with events broadcast on the internet.
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The new Toyota GR Yaris, the rally version of which is the current reigning champion, served as the zero car in the Goodwood Speedweek’s rally stage held from Oct. 16-18. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda was in attendance as his alter ego Master Driver Morizo.
“For car lovers like us, there is no better place to be than Goodwood,” Morizo said. “It’s a feast for all the senses and even though we may not be able to smell the gasoline this year. Thanks to the imagination of the Duke of Richmond, we still get to see and hear many fantastic new cars, including a favorite of mine, this new Toyota GR Yaris.”
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According to Toyota, the new GR Yaris is the first Toyota vehicle developed with its reversed concept of turning a motorsports car into a production car. The concept was borne out of Morizo’s desire to “restore the Toyota sports cars” and, presumably, eliminate the reputation that Toyota cars are not dynamic to drive.
“In truth, we participate in motorsports like WRC because we learn so much about how to make our cars more dynamic and fun to drive,” Moriza added, before stating that he, along with Tommi Mäkinen, had a hand in helping create and tune the car. It’s certainly cool to see how passionate Toyota’s CEO can get about motorsports and driving.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.