Toyota GR Corolla Rally Concept Headlines GR Models Exhibit at 2022 SEMA

The Special Equipment Market Association (SEMA) auto show gathers some of the best aftermarket brands in the world, with OEM players also tagging along to share the limelight. For this year’s edition, things are looking good considering the auto industry’s post-pandemic economic recovery phase and stricter vehicle regulations that are said to hinder that.

Joining Nissan’s NISMO in this 2022 edition is Toyota, and the automaker is bringing their Gazoo Racing (GR) performance arm to take centre stage. Headlining Toyota GR’s showcase here is the GR Corolla Rally Concept, alongside other special GR models.

Inspired by the recently-crowned World Rally Championship (WRC) champion – the GR Yaris Rally1 – the GR Corolla Rally Concept is powered by a similar 1.6-litre G16E-GTS turbocharged engine. Coupled with a six-speed manual gearbox and proprietary GR-FOUR all-wheel drive system, the package produces the same outputs of 300 HP and 307 NM as it does in the stock GR Corolla.

The addition of TRD airbox and custom MagnaFlow exhaust system separates this rally concept apart from the road car it underpins.

Built upon the 2023 GR Corolla Circuit Edition, this rally concept boasts a new rally-spec body kit crafted out of carbon fibre. Said aerokit consists of a new front splitter, flared wheel arches, extended side skirts and a massive rear wing. Also present at rear is a quad tailpipes layout, with one flanking on each side plus a pair of which mounted at the centre.

The GR Corolla Rally Concept rides on a set of 17-inch OZ Racing wheels wrapped in Continental Viking Contact 7 tyres. The brakes have been upgraded with two dual-piston callipers – one being the standard dual-piston GR braking hardware supplemented by a custom set from Wilwood. TEIN Gravel Rally dampers are also bolted on, making this rally hot-hatch truly ready to hit the dirt.

On board, this GR Corolla’s innards has been stripped to save weight. It also boasts GR-badged OMP racing bucket seats primed with red six-point racing harness in place of the standard GR seats setup. Its rear seats have been modified to house a spare wheel, as well accommodate its custom roll cage. Rally-style handbrake lever and ZeroNoise comms complete the GR Corolla’s race-ready cabin.

Aside from the GR Corolla Rally Concept, Toyota GR’s exhibition also features a pair of 2020 GR Supra drag vehicles – dubbed as the ‘10-Second Twins’. These were tuned by Toyota the Motorsport Garage team and are capable of finishing a quarter-mile drag in about 10.984 seconds – hence the moniker.

The next GR car on display is the special 2022 Toyota GR86 ‘Daily Drifter’ built by Larry Chen – world renowned automotive and motorsports photographer. Inspired by the 1,000 HP purpose-built drift cars he often sees at work, Larry decided to build one for himself too.

What differs his ‘Daily Drifter’ from the Formula Drift monsters is that his GR86 can be easily built by the average car enthusiasts in their own home workshop and still serve as a dependable daily driver. Clearly, this build packs enough performance to burn rubbers around the drift circuit without breaking the bank or giving up a daily driver.

The final GR machine showcased here is another racing-spec GR86 built for a different purpose. Effectively, the GR86 Cup Car is custom-built to compete in the all-new one-make GR Cup Series that kicks-off in 2023. Sanctioned by SRO Motorsports America, this series is poised to provide valuable racing data and trackside knowledge for Toyota GR engineers and aid them in developing future road-going models.