Toyota Debuts Hotter 2023 GR Corolla Morizo Edition Hatch
These cars feature shorter gearing, more torque and a serious reduction in weight for maximum performance.
Toyota's forthcoming GR Corolla isn't just a hot hatch. No, it's a hatch hotter than a zillion suns thanks to its rowdy 300-horsepower three-cylinder engine, standard all-wheel drive and three-pedal-only drivetrain. We already knew that Toyota would be offering the limited Circuit edition with its forged carbon fiber roof and other goodies, but now, thanks to Toyota's announcement Wednesday, we know there's another limited version, and it's even rowdier still.
Enter the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Edition. For those not in the know, Morizo is the racing nom de guerre used by Toyota boss Akio Toyoda, and it's this love of racing that informs the many performance add-ons of the Morizo Edition. The biggest mechanical changes are to its gearing: It goes to a more closely spaced gearset in the six-speed manual transmission as well as shorter differential gearing for more aggressive acceleration. Couple that with a significant bump in torque from 273 pound-feet to 295 pound-feet, and you have a recipe for some fairly violent launches.
Other changes are focused on weight savings. In total, the Morizo Edition is a claimed 100 pounds lighter than the Circuit Edition car. These savings come mostly from a rear seat delete as well as 18-inch forged aluminum wheels. If the idea of buying a four-door hatchback without a back seat sounds kind of weird, it is, but this isn't a car for normal people. This is further evidenced by the removal of other creature comforts like the rear door speakers, window regulators and even the rear wiper blade and motor. The result is a claimed curb weight of 3,186 pounds.
The Morizo Edition also gets uprated monotube dampers, new front brake ducts for better cooling and a stiffer chassis than the usual Corolla. Toyota says it uses 6 meters (around 18 feet) of additional structural adhesive and 349 extra spot welds to put the GR Corolla Morizo Edition together, which is pretty impressive. GR engineers also added extra chassis bracing to the rear to make like The Dude's rug and tie everything together.
Toyota isn't dishing on how much the limited Morizo Edition cars will cost. Still, given the number of changes over the regular GR Corolla, we'd bet the premium won't amount to chump change -- possibly high four figures or low five figures. We'll know later this year, ahead of the model's 2023 on-sale date.
