Three cylinders, all-wheel drive, and 300 hp: The Toyota GR Corolla

Enlarge / You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a WRX, but it's actually the new Toyota GR Corolla. (credit: Toyota)

By and large, Toyota is known for dependable but boring cars. But among the millions of RAV4s and Camrys, there is evidence of a wilder streak. There's the Supra, of course, which is flashy in a way that few cars are today. And there's the GR Yaris, which was designed to homologate a rally car before a rule change rendered it obsolete.

"GR" stands for Gazoo Racing, and it seems that the GR magic transformed the Yaris into a cult favorite. Toyota didn't sell this little three-cylinder, all-wheel-drive pocket rocket in the US market, but it will bring the follow-up, the GR Corolla, to the country. The GR Corolla is also powered by a turbocharged 1.6 L three-cylinder engine and features AWD, and it goes on sale later this year.

Like the GR Yaris, the GR Corolla is built at a special factory in Motomachi, Japan, as opposed to being made at the normal Corolla line at the company's Takaoka plant. The car's body has been strengthened with stronger welds and adhesives, and buyers get the option of a forged carbon-fiber roof to save weight where it really counts.

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