Tiny Toyota Yaris sells for more than $200,000

Wednesday, 25 January 2023

Just 500 GRMN Yaris models were built, and they were exclusively sold in Japan.

A new record price has been set for Toyota’s pint-sized Yaris, with one example fetching more than $200,000 at auction in Japan earlier this week.

Inevitably, this isn’t your Nan’s Yaris. The record-breaking model in question is a 2022 GRMN Yaris Circuit edition – the most raucous and serious version of Toyota’s all-wheel drive GR Yaris hot hatch.

It’s rumoured that the record-price Yaris was won by an enthusiast in Hong Kong.

According to Drive, the Yaris in question recently sold for ¥18,165,000 before auction fees, or approximately $214,450. That’s roughly double the GRMN’s initial retail price when it was first unveiled in January of last year.

An abbreviation for ‘Gazoo Racing tuned by the Masters of Nüburgring’, the GRMN is the most track-focused version of the GR Yaris. Toyota made two GRMN variants; a Rally model and a Circuit model. Both predictably became instant collector’s items.

With just 66km on the clock, this is likely one of the lowest mileage GRMNs in existence.

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The Circuit variant features extensive weight saving measures, which include a carbon fibre bonnet, roof, and rear wing, as well as a second-row seat delete and lightweight Recaro buckets up front.

Its turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine has been given some attention, too. Although its power output is still the standard 200kW, Toyota’s engineers managed to grow torque by 20Nm, to 390Nm.

Other tweaks included a revised heavy duty 6-speed manual with closer ratios, dual mechanical limited-slip differentials at each end, a more rigid chassis, and a larger rear spoiler.

Just 500 GRMN Yaris models were produced in total, and they were sold exclusively in Japan. The model that sold this week was likely one of the best examples out there, with just 66km on the clock. It is rumoured to have been bought by an enthusiast in Hong Kong.

The market for Japanese performance cars has been strong for several years now, aided by a surge in interest in older models from the ‘80s and ‘90s fuelled by popular culture and the ability to legally import models more than 25-years-old to the United States.

Even standard Toyota GR Yaris values have grown in recent times. Launched in 2020 with a sticker price of $54,990, used examples can now be spotted advertised for well over $60,000. Out of the 16 GR Yaris examples currently listed for sale on Trade Me, just one is priced below the model’s original retail price.

Toyota’s GR line-up is set to grow later this year, with the arrival of the GR Corolla and Yaris Cross GR Sport. The recently unveiled Hilux GR Sport is also tipped to join the range before the end of 2023.