While comparing the
all-new Toyota Corolla Altis price list we received from a dealer to what
Toyota Motor Thailand is producing and offering, we saw a variant that--as of today before the launch--isn't offered here: the
Toyota Corolla Altis GR Sport.
For the uninitiated, the
'GR' is the abbreviation for
Gazoo Racing, the Japanese carmaker's in-house motorsport arm, and it appends the tag
'GR Sport' to Toyota cars
"for extraordinarily flamboyant performance and a personality to match."
Well, the Corolla Altis GR Sport certainly looks the part as the front and rear fascias are more dramatic than that of the standard model, thanks to the different treatment to the bumper design and grille up front and the addition of a ducktail spoiler on the rear trunk lid.
Inside, it's pretty much a regular Corolla Altis, save for the red accents on the leather seats...
a different gauge cluster design...
and the addition of paddle shifters.
The biggest difference though is that, of the six Corolla Altis variants offered in Thailand, it's the only one equipped with the
1.8-liter 2ZR-FBE four-cylinder inline gasoline engine that
puts out 138 hp and 177 Nm of torque through a
seven-speed-simulated Super CVT-i with sequential shifting. And with a
ground clearance of 135 mm, it also sits slightly lower than the hybrid model's 155-mm ride height.
If
Toyota Motor Philippines won't be bringing in the Toyota Corolla Altis GR Sport as a surprise as today's launch, let's hope it does so sometime soon though. But if it doesn't, there's always the aftermarket body kit, ummm, market to look to.
