Toyota's ready to pour that sweet GRMN performance on the Corolla hatch
Just because we've never gotten a GRMN model in the US doesn't mean we're not keeping fingers (and toes) crossed this time.
There was a time when fast Toyotas seemed to grow on trees. The brand's lineup was packed with sporty cars, hot versions of regular cars and even world-beating technological terrors that had the folks in Germany feeling very nervous.
Sadly, those days are mostly gone. The only things that Toyota offers that are remotely sporty are the 86 and now the Supra, but that could be changing, according to a recent interview with a Toyota exec conducted by the Dutch publication AutoRAI.
See, word around the campfire is that Toyota is going to extend its GRMN line of hotted-up vehicles to the already-quite-good Corolla hatchback. This means the hatchback would get more power and ideally retain its manual transmission.
If GRMN isn't an acronym with which you're familiar, fear not. It stands for Gazoo Racing Masters of the Nurburgring (we know, cringe-worthy) and it's an acronym that has graced the backsides of some of our favorite offerings from the "bean wearing a sombrero" brand for the last few years.
According to the AutoRAI interview, the Corolla GRMN will come after the appearance-only Corolla GR and will feature some saucy, non-hybrid drivetrain. Toyota Deputy Chief Designer Toshio Kanei told the Dutch journalists that a "four-cylinder turbo engine with an engine capacity of about 1.6 liters can be interesting."
We haven't been lucky enough to get a GRMN-badged model yet in the US, not even the Yaris GRMN (which really hurt our feelings, Toyota), but because the Corolla is already a US model and available here with a manual, who knows, maybe it could happen?
