Toyota GR Yaris Sebastien Ogier 9X World Champion Edition Debuts as 200-Unit-Only Special

Toyota commemorates nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Ogier with a 200-unit-only special edition GR Yaris.

Another day, another limited edition of the popular Toyota GR Yaris has been released, but we promised you this one is quite special. That is because the new Toyota GR Yaris Sebastien Ogier 9X World Champion Edition, as its very mouthful name suggests, is created to commemorate the ninth World Rally Championship (WRC) drivers’ title for the legendary French rally driver, with only 200 units up for grabs worldwide.

Built and developed by Toyota Gazoo Racing themselves, the GR Yaris Ogier Edition is based on the already extreme GR Yaris Aero Performance Package version, plus some additional performance features that take the rally hatch to the next level.

One of which is the two new bespoke all-wheel drive (AWD) modes that Gazoo Racing created alongside Ogier himself. The first one is aptly named “Seb” mode, which replaces the outgoing Track driving mode that features a 40:60 torque split for a more sportscar-like rear-biased feel without compromising the front-end grip.

The second one is simply known as the Morizo mode, named after Chairman Akio Toyoda’s racing nickname. This one is catered toward off-road driving, where the front and rear axles lock up together under throttle for maximum traction, then relax under braking. According to Toyota, this setup is supposed to combine both Ogier and Morizo’s inputs from real rally driving.

As for the visuals, the Ogier Edition looks quite similar to any other GR Yaris equipped with the aforementioned Aero Performance package, plus some minor details. Besides the special Black Gravite paint, the special model rides on 18-inch matte black wheels with Ogier’s signature blue brake callipers.

The French flag tricolour decal on the front grille is a direct homage to Ogier’s home state, and the special commemorative badge is placed at the rear to help you differentiate the Ogier Edition from any other normal GR Yaris.

The special treatment continues inside this special hot hatch, with the most prominent being the new rally-style GR steering wheel that is noticeably smaller with some switches inspired by Toyota's own Rally2 machine. The French flag tricolour theme is also present here, particularly in the contrasting stitches on the steering wheel, while the digital metre cluster now comes with unique graphics for the two new bespoke driving modes.

Production of this limited-edition Toyota GR Yaris Sebastien Ogier 9X World Champion Edition is slated to take place sometime later this year. As mentioned earlier, only 200 examples will be available, with 100 of them heading to Europe, and the remaining 100 will be exclusively circulated for the Japanese market via a lottery. There are no words on its pricing as of now, but expect to pay much more than what you normally would for a normal GR Yaris.