In 20 years or so, perhaps when he’s nearing his 50s, Oliver Solberg will stop in the street and stare. He won’t be able to help it.
It’ll be the three-pot rasp that catches the ear and the red, white and black livery that works on the eyes. The sight of a retro Toyota GR Yaris will bring him right back to his twenties and all those rally wins (and potentially) world titles).
It’s the same for his father Petter right now. Admittedly, the soundtrack is more off-beat boxer warble and the colors are shiny blue and banana yellow, but there’s no disguising a Solberg-supporting Subaru owner.
And the above will happen: Oliver and I predicted it in Croatia last week. Standing waiting for Saturday to start, we were talking through something and nothing when a fully liveried Impreza WRX STI slowed and stopped alongside us. The enormously proud owner was delighted to receive a thumbs up from this year’s Monte Carlo Rally winner. As the Subaru moved away, it dawned on us that this was a premonition.
“It’ll be your colors and your name on a well looked after GR Yaris that’ll be pulling up here in 20 years,” I offered.
“I think you’re right,” was the response. “It’s so cool to see these cars like my dad’s. They’re in so nice condition. The Yaris will be the same…”
Oliver Solberg is convinced the GR Yaris will be a cult classic car in the future
Is there a bigger compliment to pay? Subaru was the brand that went from the farmer’s field to the wall of any self-respecting teenager in next to no time. The Impreza helped the company make that leap and it remains as iconic and road-running relevant today as it was when Colin McRae, Richard Burns and Petter Solberg were winning world titles.
Toyota also delivered back in the day; remember the Carlos Sainz edition of the Celica Turbo 4WD? It sold out immediately. But the Celica didn’t quite catch in the way the Yaris has.
The GR Yaris is a sublime modern take on the homologation special. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Toyota takes another look and move it on once again. This is a car company living by chairman Akio Toyoda’s mantra of making ever-better cars through motorsport.
I mean, who else steps out of an already incredibly focussed road car and thinks: ‘We could lose five-mil from the diameter of the steering wheel…’
Akio Toyoda does. And that’s what makes him great.
Updates to the GR Yaris include revised shock absorbers, fresh tires and a smaller steering wheel
The new wheel is 360mm diameter to allow for quicker steering inputs. It doesn’t end there. The thumb rests have been removed, they’re not there for motorsport so they’re not there on the road. And the wheel-mounted buttons have been moved to avoid them being deployed when going from lock-to-lock.
Add to that revised front and rear shock absorber settings and updated electronic power steering – lessons learned from Toyota Gazoo Racing’s experience from high-grip running in Super Taikyu and the Japanese Rally Championship. And that’s before we even get to newly cooked Bridgestone Pontenza Race boots aimed at delivering enhanced circuit performance and less road noise.
But let’s save the best for last: you can now have heated seats and that smaller steering wheel? That’s heated too, if you like.
Nope, that’s not the best… the best is the option of a vertical hand brake. IYKYK.
These are just some of the reasons Oliver Solberg will still be smiling two decades down the road.
