Toyota appears to be cooking up an even hotter version of its GR Corolla hot hatch at the Nürburgring, and it could wear the brand’s flagship GRMN performance badging.
Short for ‘Gazoo Racing, Meisters of the Nürburgring’, we’ve previously seen the GRMN name applied to a higher-performance GR Yaris, and it’s expected to also be used on the most track-focused Supra yet.
Spy photos from the famed Nordschleife circuit show the GR Corolla sporting a number of upgrades, such as wider front guards with air vents, a large vented bonnet duct and an extended rear wing which protrudes further than the aerodynamic aid on the US Circuit Edition.
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Inside there appears to be just two racing seats and a roll cage, though this is unlikely to carry across to the production model as a number of vehicles have been seen testing with similar modifications to better protect their occupants.
There appears to be no additional visual upgrades, however it’s possible the GRMN Corolla could receive a performance boost under the skin.
The Japanese market GRMN Yaris benefitted from a torque increase, while the GRMN Supra is expected to swap its BMW Z4-derived engine for a more potent unit from the M2.
Toyota has already announced the facelifted GR Corolla will receive a 30Nm torque increase, bumping its outputs up to 221kW of power and 400Nm, which was previously only available in the Morizo Edition.
It’s not known how much the turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine can be pushed to make more power without additional supporting upgrades.
In the case of the GRMN Yaris, it was enhanced through shortened gear and final drive ratios and mechanical limited-slip differentials.
2025 Toyota GR Corolla 
The appearance of this potential GRMN Corolla adds mystery to a version of what seemed to be a standard GR Corolla with camouflage earlier this week, though the latter vehicle could be Toyota’s benchmark when testing at the Nürburgring.
Toyota is due to bring the updated GR Corolla to Australia between October and December 2024, with an eight-speed automatic transmission finally joining the lineup alongside its existing six-speed manual.
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