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By Charl Bosch

Motoring Journalist


Plot stirred again: Hot Toyota Corolla reportedly coming next year with GRMN name

GRMN touches means the application of the full 200 kW from the 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine.


With less than four months having passed since the last speculative report broke, and with focus still on the GR Yaris, a fresh claim from Japan has suggested that eagerly awaited GR Corolla will indeed debut in September next year instead of 2023.

Despite having made the allegation before, Best Car has taken its latest claim a step further by reporting that the Corolla will in fact revive the full-bore GRMN moniker together with the Sport prefix, and feature the Yaris’ 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine, which develops 200 kW in Japan instead of the 192 kW in other markets. It will also have the same four-wheel-drive system and more than likely the six-speed manual gearbox as an automatic has not yet been developed.

In another twist, the GRMN designation, without the Sport tag, will be resplendent on the Corolla Touring Sports estate, known in Japan as the Fielder, thus resulting in the first performance Toyota estate since the iconic Caldina GT-Four bowed out in 2007.

As previously stated though, this latest prediction should still be taken with a pinch of salt as the project’s announcing in 2018 would result in the development period being comparatively short. In addition, no spy images or confirmed details have emerged so far, meaning that the mentioned premiere could still take place in 2023.

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