Okay, we’ll get right to it. Yes, the Toyota Yaris (including the GR Yaris) isn’t sold in North America and, as far as we know, there are no plans to bring it to our market.
But the reveal of the GR Yaris Morizo RR Special Edition at Tokyo Auto Salon is worth noting for a few reasons. First off, it’s a great looking hot hatch that comes loaded with a pile of performance goodies, including a giant carbon fiber rear wing, front spoiler, side skirts and a carbon fiber hood. Secondly, it has a unique suspension inspired by GR’s racing and development efforts at the Nürburgring. Plus, it has a 4WD control mode that has been renamed Morizo mode, instead of Gravel mode on the regular GR Yaris.
Finally, we’re hoping some of the special sauce this car has been ladled with will be shared with the GR Corolla, a car that we do get. The cars, after all, share a common architecture and many parts. We hope to know more about Toyota’s plans for the GR Corolla, which could include a new model, later this year.
Full press release follows.
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TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) today announced the creation of the MORIZO RR special edition of the GR Yaris and unveiled the model's under-development prototype at Tokyo Auto Salon 2026.
- A special-edition vehicle created with Morizo at the Nürburgring, equipped with the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission and to be limited to 100 units in Japan
- Application of lessons learned from competing in the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race, resulting in an exclusive suspension setup and an exclusive 4WD control mode
- Equipped with a carbon-fiber rear wing developed through competing in the Nürburgring 24 Hours
- Features exclusive Morizo-favored "Gravel Khaki" exterior color, as well as brake calipers and interior accents in Morizo's signature "Yellow" preferred
The GR Yaris MORIZO RR is a special-edition model created with Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman and Master Driver Akio Toyoda, aka Morizo, by applying insights gained through the challenge of competing as TOYOTA GAZOO ROOKIE Racing (TGRR) in the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race.
TGR, with its core mission of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars, and ROOKIE Racing, which hones GR vehicles, transcended organizational boundaries and came together based on roles rather than titles under Morizo's leadership to form TGRR, aiming to further accelerate the making of ever-better cars.
In the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Morizo, as a team driver, took the wheel of the GAZOO Racing Direct Automatic Transmission-equipped No. 109 GR Yaris fielded by TGRR, logging more laps than scheduled despite the course's grueling conditions. Upon the team's successful completion of the race, Morizo was quick to convey how good he found the GR Yaris to be, and he credited its 8-speed automatic transmission with enabling him to conquer 15 laps.
The GR Yaris MORIZO RR is exceptional for its Nürburgring-cultivated delivery of car-driver unity for a high level of driver-vehicle interaction, its reliability and security, and its ability to make car-lovers smile and want to keep on driving it.
The GR Yaris MORIZO RR for the Japanese market is to be available in a total of 100 units from spring 2026, with purchasing lottery applications now being accepted via the TGR official smartphone application "GR app". The model is also to be released in certain European markets in a limited run of 100 units.
Main features
Nürburgring-honed suspension
Benefitting from the powerful downforce generated by an exclusive rear wing, the suspension setup has been optimized to achieve damping forces that allow the tires to firmly follow even highly uneven road surfaces, like those at the Nürburgring. The result is performance that allows for stress-free everyday driving while maintaining sporty driving performance, with control of the electric power steering (EPS) system also having been modified accordingly. The vehicle was developed as a high-performance model that allows enjoying driver-vehicle interaction that is unique to MORIZO RR models, generates an overflow of spontaneous smiles, and enables experiencing an extraordinary sense of exhilaration.
Exclusive 4WD control mode developed with Morizo
An exclusive 4WD control mode was developed together with Morizo, in which a "MORIZO" mode replaces the "GRAVEL" mode of the base vehicle. The "MORIZO" mode sets front/rear initial torque and driving force distribution at 50:50.
Interior and exterior designed with the master driver and professional drivers
As an exclusive GR Yaris MORIZO RR performance aerodynamic part, the model features a carbon-fiber rear wing developed through competing in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Other exterior enhancements are found in the form of a front spoiler, side skirts, and a carbon-fiber hood.
The exterior color is a GR Yaris MORIZO RR-exclusive and Morizo-favored "Gravel Khaki", which, despite its distinctiveness, blends seamlessly into everyday settings. A "Piano Black" finish makes the radiator grille look sleek, sharp, and closer to the ground, while the wheels are done in "Matte Bronze".
The brake calipers and interior stitching sport Morizo's signature "Yellow".
Another exclusive feature is the suede-surfaced steering wheel, which has been given a slightly smaller-than-normal outer diameter and modified paddle shifters and steering-wheel-mounted switches for improved operability in motorsports. The switches, in particular, are laid out independently, based on lessons learned through the use of similar switches in the GR Yaris Rally2 rally car.
The interior displays an exclusive serial-number plate with a "MORIZO RR" logo.
GR Yaris MORIZO RR Exclusive Equipment
Performance
- Exclusively tuned shock absorbers
- Exclusively tuned EPS
- Addition of MORIZO RR-exclusive 4WD mode select
Exterior
- Exclusive carbon-fiber rear wing
- Front spoiler
- Side skirts
- Carbon-fiber hood
- Exclusive body color (Gravel Khaki)
- Exclusive radiator grille (Piano Black)
- Exclusive wheel color (Matte Bronze)
- Exclusive colored brake calipers (Yellow)
- Exclusive MORIZO RR emblem (on the back door)
- Morizo-autographed front windshield
Interior
- Suede surface with yellow stitching (on the GR-exclusive steering wheel, shift knob & boot, and parking brake lever & cover)
- Exclusive seats (with modified headrest embroidery design, yellow stitching, and differently colored perforation)
- Exclusive serial-number plate with "MORIZO RR" logo
- Exclusive GR Full TFT gauge display (for displaying "MORIZO" mode)
Photos courtesy of Toyota Motor Co.
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