Toyota Corolla may see a hot version that rivals Golf GTI and Focus ST

Toyota is toying with the idea of a go-fast Corolla that could see it take on hot hatches like the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Ford Focus ST. 

Speaking with our friends at Motoring, Sean Hanley, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Toyota Australia hinted that he liked the idea of a Toyota hot hatch and believed an amped-up Corolla would be successful in Australia – one of the world’s most performance orientated market.

For Mr. Hanley, it’s not even a question of if the sporty Corolla would make it to market, but a matter of when. When asked about the timeline, the Toyota executive said it could be out in roughly three years from now.

“I’d like to see it as soon as possible, but in the next three years I wouldn’t rule out the possibility or probability of something coming under the Gazoo Racing brand,” said Mr. Hanley.

For those who are unaware, Gazoo Racing is Toyota’s in-house motorsport division and last year the “GR” sports car range was launched in Japan, offering everything from pumped up Prius and minivan to tweaked 86 and Mark X.

The three-tier lineup encompasses the entry-level GR Sport, the mid-range GR, and the flagship GRMN which stands for “Gazoo Racing Masters of Nurburgring”.

Toyota launched the new generation Corolla earlier this year with the most powerful variant motivated by a 2.0-litre hybrid engine producing 134kW. The Corolla GR could well get a turbocharger strapped to the 2.0L motor for at least 200kW.

Rendering via X-Tomi Design