As fans of Toyota (and Lexus) most recent performance cars will know, the ‘Morizo RR’ treatment means some very special attention from the brand’s CEO and racing driver, Akio Toyoda. The latest to bear the prized badge is the 2026 Toyota GR Yaris Morizo RR Prototype, shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
Incorporating lessons learned from the 2025 Nurburgring 24 Hours campaign, the prototype gains a Nordschleife-honed suspension tune, revisions to the EPS and a model-exclusive ‘Morizo’ 4WD mode in lieu of the standard car’s ‘Gravel’ setting. Like the Lexus LBX Morizo RR, this locks initial torque split to 50:50 front-to-rear.
Cosmetically (as well as functionally), a huge carbon fibre rear wing is the most notable change, along with ‘Gravel Khaki’ paint and a piano black grille with bronze wheels, yellow brake calipers, and an autograph from Morizo himself on the windscreen, and build plaque.
An interesting decision is the exclusive eight-speed Direct Automatic Transmission (8DAT) rather than the six-speed manual, with the rationale being that it helped Toyoda-san complete 15 laps of the Nordschleife during the race.
There’s no mention of any changes to the powertrain, so we assume it carries over the recently-updated 1.6-litre turbo three-cylinder, now producing 221kW and 400Nm (up from the initial 200kW and 370Nm outputs).
Inside, a suede-finished GR steering wheel in a smaller diameter and paddles and seperate switches – said to be influenced by the GR Yaris Rally2 program – are notable changes. To our eyes, the steering wheel looks identical to the GR GT unveiled last year but Toyota hasn’t mentioned if this is the case.
Just 100 of these are earmarked for production locally in Japan, with 100 more destined for Europe. At this stage, it looks like Australia will miss out.
