Toyota May Return to World Rally Championship with Turbocharged Yaris

Toyota has had a pretty stodgy reputation for the past decade or so, but recently the automaker has been trying to regain the sporty mojo it once had. (Remember the 1980s and '90s?) The Lexus LFA supercar was the first high-profile instance of the company's efforts, followed by its collaboration with Subaru on the rear-wheel-drive FT-86/Scion FR-S. Now there's word from World Rally Championship (WRC) that Toyota may be looking to get back into the rallying game. Although it is far from a done deal, a Toyota representative told WRC that the company is considering an S2000-class rally entry powered by a new turbocharged 1.6-liter engine. S2000 regulations dictate a production-derived race car with a maximum of 2.0 liters of engine displacement. Of course, cars can be fitted with all-wheel drive and sequential gearboxes. According to Toyota, the engine is still in the testing phase, and an entire car wouldn't appear until sometime next year. If you're envisioning a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Celica redux festooned with driving lights, prepare to be disappointed—the Toyota representative who spoke with WRC hinted that the subcompact Yaris would be the logical basis for the race car. Whichever donor production car Toyota chooses, it will do battle with the likes of Volkswagen's new Polo R WRC, Mini's Countryman-based John Cooper Works WRC, and Ford's Fiesta RS WRC. In addition to fulfilling Toyota's goal to inject more passion into its cars, the move also makes sense for the automaker's future in motorsports. Toyota has a successful history in rallying, and re-entering the sport would be an excellent rebound from its less-than-successful foray into F1. Plus, it could market the Yaris with the line: "It's a race car!" from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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