Toyota’s hotted-up Corolla could be closer to receiving an automatic transmission than we first thought, with the option potentially arriving as soon as later this year in overseas markets.
Information reportedly being sent to dealers has leaked on various owner forums, confirming the Toyota GR Corolla will gain an eight-speed automatic transmission for the upcoming 2025 model year… at least in Canada.
This will reportedly arrive alongside various other performance-oriented tweaks including a torque boost.
The information was published by a user on the GR Corolla Forum, who shared a screenshot of an equipment list for the 2025 GR Corolla in Canada.
Heading that list is the addition a “new eight-speed transmission”, alongside a “peak engine torque increase” and a “new sub-radiator” that “improves engine cooling performance”.
That sub-radiator has already been seen in an optional cooling package for the updated GR Yaris, which also included a cool air intake and intercooler sprayer.
That torque increase is listed as a bump from 370Nm to 400Nm, which will bring all models in line with the outputs previously available on only the Morizo Edition and the incoming GR Yaris update.
The sub-radiator will be standard on a new Premium grade in Canada. Another post collating the available information indicates this could be the only grade to be offered with the choice of an eight-speed automatic or manual transmission.
It’ll slot in above the base, manual-only Core which will reportedly gain a heated steering wheel and brake cooling ducts, but miss out on the Premium’s head-up display, dual-zone climate control, matte black wheels, carbon-fibre roof, bonnet bulge, suede seats, and red stitching.
All models will reportedly receive a “revised front bumper design”.
Gone is the Blue Flame colour, alongside the Circuit model that wasn’t available in Australia.
Toyota announced in January the updated GR Yaris, expected here early in 2025, will get the option of a new eight-speed automatic transmission, leaving the GR Corolla as the last manual-only Gazoo Racing product – at least for now.
GR president Tomoya Takahashi confirmed in May that an automatic GR Corolla would be on the cards “if there is customer demand”.
Toyota employed TGR World Rally Team drivers to test the new transmission by putting a GR Yaris equipped with it through its paces across various road surfaces, including snow-covered roads in Finland.
Automatic GR Yaris models were also put to the test in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge. With the automatic transmission, the GR Yaris weighs only 20kg more than standard at 1300kg.
The other GR models with automatics are the Supra and the GR86. In these coupes, the self-shifter is a popular option, accounting for over 50 per cent of sales across these model lines.
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