New Toyota GR Yaris Morizo RR is an ultra-hot hatch with Nürburgring roots
Only 100 examples of fearsome hot hatch are earmarked for Europe, with another 100 to be sold in Japan
We were expecting the new Toyota MR2 to be revealed at the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon, but sadly that didn’t happen. As consolation prizes go, however, this even more hardcore, super-limited edition version of the ferocious Toyota GR Yaris hot hatch isn’t bad.
The new GR Yaris Morizo RR is the brainchild of Toyota’s chairman and ‘master driver’ Akio Toyoda, who has been racing under the alias Morizo since 2009. He was also one of the test drivers of the GR Yaris during its development, and competed in the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours with Toyota Gazoo Rookie Racing (TGRR).
The No109 GR Yaris the TGRR team entered finished the race, with Toyoda himself completing 15 laps of the ‘Green Hell’ – more than he was supposed to do. This experience inspired the creation of the GR Yaris Morizo RR, with the big boss providing his own insights.
For starters, the electric power-steering has been retuned and the suspension optimised to keep the tyres in firm contact with the road, including on uneven surfaces like those found at the Nürburgring, according to Toyota – a description that also suits UK roads pretty well, we think.
The result is, we’re told, “performance that allows for stress-free everyday driving while maintaining sporty performance”.
There’s also an exclusive Morizo mode for the GR Yaris’s four-wheel-drive system. This replaces the Gravel setting on the standard car – used examples of which are available on our Buy A Car service from £25,000 right now – and sets the torque distribution at 50:50 front-to-back. The pocket rocket’s 276bhp turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine hasn’t been touched, though.
You will have noticed the massive carbon fibre rear wing, of course, which is based on the one on TGRR’s race car from the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Elsewhere, the Morizo RR gets a new front spoiler, side skirts and a carbon fibre bonnet.
Even the Gravel Khaki paint is exclusive to this special edition, contrasted by a piano black finish on the grille and splitter, plus matt bronze wheels that are wrapped around bright yellow brake calipers.
Yellow is Morizo’s signature colour, apparently, which explains why it’s also used for the contrast stitching inside. But the biggest addition is a new motorsport-inspired steering wheel, which is smaller than the standard car’s, features modified paddle shifters for the eight-speed automatic transmission and is adorned with switches, which are laid out based on lessons learned from the GR Yaris Rally2 rally car.
Just 200 examples of the Toyota GR Yaris Morizo RR are going to be made, with 100 for Japan and another 100 to be sold in select European markets – so it’s going to be hard work getting hold of one. Sales won’t open until the spring, but the newcomer is likely to cost in the region of £60,000.
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