Racing cars for Germany to be built by VW in Kariega
South Africa is exporting one of its most successful racing formulas to Germany.
- Industry News
- 7 February 2025
The quickest (and most expensive) Toyota Corolla yet, has put tyre to the tar in South Africa with the arrival of the new GR Corolla. The very quick Corolla made its debut recently at the Simola Hillclimb in Knysna.
The new GR Corolla will slot into Toyota’s Gazoo Racing line-up currently consisting of the GR86, GR Supra and GR Yaris and three GR Sport models, the Corolla Cross GR-S, Hilux GR-S and the Land Cruiser 300 GR-S.
What’s is it?
This is no ordinary Corolla. It is a true sports car with the 221 kW-output from the three-cylinder 1600-turbo engine that basically tells the story of this super Toyota Corolla.
Mated exclusively to an intelligent six-speed manual transmission, the GR Corolla employs the GR-Four all-wheel-drive system developed through Toyota’s involvement in the World Rally Championship.
It is therefore not surprising that the GR Corolla delivers exceptional levels of traction and control with engineering designed to optimise drive power to each wheel, while remaining simple and lightweight.
The GR Corolla is offered in two grades in South Africa: GR Corolla 1.6T Core and GR Corolla 1.6T Circuit.
Both GR Corolla models are available in Glacier White, Raven Black and Fierce Red. The Circuit Edition will also be available in the distinctive Midnight Grey.
The GR Corolla has been eagerly awaited by sports car enthusiasts and Toyota customers alike, and there is now an opportunity for them to finally get their hands on it.
It is available in limited numbers, and customers are encouraged to register their interest with their nearest dealer as soon as they can.
Price:
The GR Corolla is offered in two grades in South Africa: GR Corolla 1.6T Core and GR Corolla 1.6T Circuit.
The latter comes with a Forged Carbon Fibre roof, Head-Up display, Suede GR Sports Seats and is competitively priced at R876 100, while the GR Corolla 1.6T Core is aggressively priced at R816 500.
Volkswagen has added two new derivatives to its T-Cross line-up for the 2025 model year. The T-Cross has been the best-selling Volkswagen SUV with over 36 000 cars sold since its launch in 2019.
Volkswagen found a gap in it SUV line-up between the range-topping Touareg and the Tiguan and will fill it with its new Tayron set to arrive locally in the second half of 2025 when pricing and engine specifications will be announced. The Tayron will launch with two equipment lines - Life and R-Line.
If you think Golf in South Africa, you think GTI or even the quicker Golf R. Volkswagen, however, has just introduced a new entry-level Golf consisting of four models slotting in below its twin performance siblings.