Under the hood of the GR Corolla is a 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine that pumps out 300 horsepower.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Toyota isn’t the first automaker that comes to mind in any discussion about sports cars. After all, it earned its reputation for building boring bulletproof commuter vehicles like the Corolla and Camry.
But that’s all changed. Toyota is no longer just reliable – it’s cool.
The Japanese giant has transformed into the go-to brand for car enthusiasts, with one of the best lineups of fun cars in the industry. Not Honda, Volkswagen, Nissan, or even BMW. It’s Toyota, and there’s no question about it.
The humble Corolla earned the title of best-selling car in the world from 1997 until 2024 when it was dethroned by the Tesla Model Y. During that time, it also earned a reputation as an automotive appliance, a tool to get you from point A to B with zero fuss.
It was as dull to drive as it was dependable. But, from behind the wheel of the Corolla I recently drove, you’d have a hard time convincing me this is the same company that built the original, bland Prius.
Admittedly, this wasn’t your average Corolla. It had a GR badge with a spec sheet that reads like car enthusiast catnip. Under the hood is a 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine that pumps out 300 horsepower, which is sent through a six-speed manual transmission to drive all four wheels through a rally-bred all-wheel-drive system with a user selectable torque-split.
With a light-ish curb weight of 1,485 kilograms and gears short enough to require a shift to third to hit 100 kilometres an hour, the GR Corolla is one the most fun and well sorted hot hatchbacks I’ve ever driven.
Rare for any vehicle, the GR Corolla comes with a stick shift.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
It’s the type of car you might have expected from an Italian or German brand, or 1990s Japan. The type of car that gets under your skin when you drive it. An instant future classic. The GR Corolla was a consolation prize for North America, because it didn’t get the GR Yaris, which was built for World Rally Championship racing.
And the GR Corolla isn’t alone as an exciting Toyota model. The GR86 is a tactile little sports coupe that reminds me of a fixed-roof Miata: perfectly balanced, nimble and remarkably easy to control. Built in partnership with Subaru, the GR86 is one of the best sports cars on the market at any price and it starts at just more than $30,000.
2024 Toyota GR 86 beside the Cabot Trail, N.S.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
Another product of a partnership, the Mark V Toyota Supra – built on BMW bones – revived the famous name plate from the 1990s. It is essentially a Japanese muscle car with a powerful BMW-sourced B58 inline-six cylinder engine under the hood. Fans were disappointed that there was no manual transmission when it made its debut, so Toyota gave them one.
The Supra is being discontinued after the 2026 model year but Toyota has confirmed a new Mark VI is being developed, this time completely in-house.
This comes at a time when other companies are scaling back on sporty cars, ditching manual transmissions and spending development money on SUVs.
For example, Mitsubishi axed two beloved nameplates, the Lancer and the Eclipse, only to bring the Eclipse back as a compact SUV called the Eclipse Cross – which did nothing to appease fans of the original sports coupe.
Like the GR Corolla, the second- and third-generation Eclipse had a turbocharged engine, manual transmission and all-wheel drive, and became a silver screen legend with its debut in The Fast and the Furious, the first flick in the franchise.
Honda recently brought back the Prelude, which is actually a good sports car, but missed the mark for many enthusiasts with its lack of a manual transmission and relatively underwhelming hybrid powertrain, considering its expensive price point. Meanwhile, Acura was poised to revive the RSX nameplate – a sports coupe that replaced the Integra – as an electric SUV, completely losing the plot. It has been cancelled.
I recently asked Kenichi Kawaji, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Canada, if the company would consider bringing back an affordable compact car like the Lancer Evolution. He said it was unlikely because Mitsubishi is a small player and doesn’t have the budget to develop a sedan or sports car where profit margins are lower.
By contrast, Toyota is much bigger and has it in its bankroll to develop fun cars, but they are relatively low volume endeavour compared to the substantial, profitable RAV4 or Highlander lineups and carry risk for the company. Even so, Toyota isn’t stopping at the GR86 and Supra.
Toyota executive vice-president Yuki Nakajima confirmed to Japanese magazine Best Car in 2024 that the company will be bringing the Celica back, likely powered by a new series of 1.5-litre and two-litre inline-four cylinder engines in development.
The company has since said these next-generation engines will be available with turbochargers and designed for electrification. The engines can sit lower in the engine bay for a lower profile hood that will decrease aerodynamic drag. The new Celica is expected to be a hybrid with all-wheel drive. More than 300 horsepower won’t be out of the question considering the three-cylinder engine in the GR Corolla makes that amount.
Also in 2024, a Toyota-developed anime series on YouTube called Grip teased the coming of the Mark VIII Celica and a fourth-generation mid-engine MR2. Toyota recently confirmed to Automotive News that it green-lit development of a mid-engine sports car which could look like the FT-Se concept unveiled at the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon. However, don’t expect it anytime soon.
The new GR GT certainly has an aggressive look.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Then there’s the new GR GT supercar, which will spearhead the new GR line as the halo car for the sub brand. It will be powered by a newly developed twin-turbo V8.
Few other companies seem as committed to driving enthusiasts, especially when it comes to building relatively affordable fun cars such as the GR 86 and GR Corolla. Manufacturers are rapidly thinning out their sedan and sports car lineups, but Toyota is keeping the flame burning.
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