Toyota's hottest Corolla is heading our way. Sort of

Damien O’Carroll

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  • Toyota NZ has announced it will be bringing just 2 examples of the GRMN Corolla here.
  • The two cars will be used at various activations across the country.
  • The company has yet to say whether or not it will make the GRMN Corolla available for sale in New Zealand.

Toyota New Zealand has announced that it will be bringing what it calls "one of the most focused performance cars it has ever created" to local shores, with the GRMN Corolla that was revealed today set to appear here as part of a global showcase of Gazoo Racing’s "most extreme engineering."

But don't get too excited, because it hasn't said it will actually sell you one just yet.

Toyota says the GRMN Corolla is one of the most focussed performance cars it has ever created.

Two GRMN Corolla vehicles will visit New Zealand, with TNZ saying they will appear "across a series of upcoming activations designed to connect local enthusiasts with the core of Toyota’s performance philosophy."

“GR has always been about learning through driving and competition - and GRMN is the result of taking that philosophy to its extreme,” said Toyota New Zealand Chief Strategic Officer Andrew Davis.

There's no back seat to save weight, meaning the GRMN Corolla may not make the best car for the school run.

"Kiwis are big performance car enthusiasts who are following the GR journey closely and like to customise their GR cars. 

"Because of this passion we now offer them a range of performance parts, and when we were given the opportunity to showcase a full factory GRMN car, we jumped at it. We are excited to see it hit our shores."

The GRMN Corolla was developed from Toyota’s participation in the Japanese Super Taikyu endurance racing series, with its evolution further shaped by extensive testing at the Nürburgring.

The GRMN badge is the absolute top of the tree for Toyota's Gazoo Racing performance range.

Toyota says the GRMN name - Gazoo Racing tuned by the Meister of Nürburgring - is "reserved for Toyota’s most highly specialised performance vehicles, engineered with a focus on precision, balance, and capability under demanding conditions."

While the hottest Corolla has been confirmed for sale in Australia in limited numbers, TNZ says it is bringing the GRMN Corolla to New Zealand as a "showcase vehicle, with its local role centred on sharing the most advanced expression of GR engineering rather than as a retail model", which probably really means if enough people start waving money at them for one it will happen.

The company says that further details on where the GRMN Corolla will be seen will be announced in due course.

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