Rayakan Kesuksesan Di Kancah WRC, Toyota Rilis Dua Edisi Khusus GR Yaris

Toyota GR Yaris RZ High Performance Sebastien Oguier Edition and Kale Rovanpera Edition. (Doc. Global Toyota)

Toyota has just launched the facelift version of the GR Yaris some time ago with improved performance and design updates. However, the Japanese company also released two special editions on this model.

This Japanese manufacturer released a special edition of GR Yaris, namely GR Yaris RZ High Performance Sebastien Oguier Edition and Kale Rovanpera Edition. The launch of these two models is to celebrate the success of the company in the World Rally Championship (WRC) through its two racers, namely Sebastien Ogier and Kale Rovanpera.

Akio Toyoda, as Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, said the two models were also presented as respect and gratitude to the riders and the entire crew who honed and developed rally cars in the world arena.

"I express my respect and gratitude to the racers who hone and develop our cars at the rally, to all the teams who gave us the opportunity, and to rally organizers and all parties involved, as well as to the fans," Toyoda said on the company's official website, Friday, January 26.

Different from other versions, this car has 4WD mode capabilities that are specially developed for these two models. The manufacturer also developed these two models according to the characteristics of the two riders.

For Oguier Edition, it consists of three modes, namely Morizo Mode which can channel energy and maximize traction on racing tracks, then Seb Mode which ensures the performance of front and rear wheels can maximize performance in high speed, and Normal Mode for daily routines.

Then, the Rovanpera Edition is given Donut Mode which offers maximum drifting capability on the rear wheels and stabilizes the front tires, then the Kale Mode works through controls that maximize the use of additional installed constant-speed differentials, allowing for aggressively swinging the rear of the vehicle as it enters the bend and pulling the front of the vehicle using an accelerator when exiting the corner. Meanwhile, Normal Mode has capabilities like other Yaris GRs.

These two models have other differences, consisting of different back-wing tunings, different exterior colors with Oguier Edition carrying Matte Stealth Gray and Rovanpera Edition colors that combine three colors at once consisting of black, white, and red typical of Gazoo Racing (GR).

Despite having several other differences, these two models have WRC flower necklace badges on the interior, making this car even more special as well as remembering the achievements of these two riders.

Launched before the recent Monte Carlo rally, the car was only available on a limited basis with 100 units each and carries a special Japanese market draw format.

It is known, Sebastien Ogier is one of the legends in the rally world that has made eight WRC world titles, with two of them with the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) in 2020 and 2021.

Meanwhile, Kalle Rovanpera is a rally racer from Finland who won twice the WRC world champion in 2022 and 2023 with TGR-WRT and set a record as the youngest winner in the competition aged 22 years and 1 day, beating Colin McRae's previous record in 1995 at the age of 27 years 89 days.