Sébastien Ogier has led calls of gratitude from the Toyota drivers after the team opted to change livery for the summer months.
Starting from next week’s Rally Portugal, the GR Yaris Rally1 will sport a new silver look – temporarily replacing the black color scheme that was introduced at the top of 2024.
Cockpit temperatures have been a growing issue since the Rally1 regulations came into play in 2022, due to the exhaust tunnel running beneath the co-drivers’ feet.
Black is a color which absorbs heat, meaning Toyota ensured the roof was car silver to combat uncomfortable cockpit temperatures.
But it has gone a step further for 2025 by making the entire car silver.
Why make the roof silver when the entire car can be?
“I like it,” Ogier smiled, “[but] I think especially the main target was to save us a bit a few degrees in the car when it’s very, very hot.
“I liked a lot the black livery, it’s very cool, but it’s true that in summer times sometimes it’s been very, very hot in the cockpit and I think it’s a request from all of us trying to find some solution to maybe reduce a little bit the temperature.
“In that way it’s nice that the team supported us and went for this livery, and it also brings something a bit fresher for the summer and I’m sure the fans will love it too.”
Fellow world champion Kalle Rovanperä admitted staying cool in the car is “quite crucial” and therefore this new livery should help.
“I think the main goal is obviously try to keep the whole car, all the parts and us drivers, more cool in the car, which is always quite crucial for us,” he said.
“We are going to have some really hot rallies and yeah, it gets super hot in the car. So yeah, I hope it will help us a bit.”
Ironically, plenty of Toyota's test days were in the wet - where temperatures were less of an issue
World championship leader Elfyn Evans admitted the black livery is his personal favorite, but not in the warmer months.
“I was a big fan of the black I’ll be honest – I liked the black car, but perhaps not such a fan when it’s 30C ambient outside and far hotter inside,” Evans said.
“So of course to have a slightly more suitable color for the summer rallies is welcome, and I’m sure we’ll be back to enjoying the black livery when the weather cools off a bit.”
Hyundai and M-Sport Ford will sport their usual liveries, but Hyundai uses a gold roof to reflect the heat while M-Sport uses silver.
