Could the Hot Hatch make a comeback?

"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly)
11/08/2019 at 22:24 • Filed to: hot hatch

Now, first things first. Before Oppo goes off tap and says they never went away because of the Golf GTI ...they actually did.

You don’t have to look back far to see that the original iterations of what many would call a hot hatch have bloated a bit from their original subcompact dim ensions.

Europe still gets quite a selection of super minis...as does Japan. But the rest of us get the ubiquitous Golf plus the occasional Fiat o r some Japanese, Korean or Euro outsider like the Suzuki Swift or VW Polo GTI . Even then...they can still be a bit mild.

This is where Toyota and Gazoo Racing come in. They want to get back into World Rally and they’ve apparently decided to use the new Yaris to do it. Bear in mind that this Yaris is the RoW version rather than the US version. It’s probably got all sorts of mad specifications (1.8 turbo 4, AWD etc) and should be able to go around corners at speed...but that’s not the important bit.

The important bit is they will have to make 25,000 of them. And then sell them. The Yaris is much smaller than the Golf and has much more in common size wise with the original Golf GTI. The other thing is that, unlike many subcompact cars, the new Yaris is available in most markets ( except North America where they get a superseded budget rebadge because no-one there wants to pay full price for an up to date tiddler) .

So, could this not so mild Yaris be the restart of something or is the hot hatch still destined to truly die?

DISCUSSION (10)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/08/2019 at 22:55

I wonder which rule they want to circumvent by building a homologation car instead of modifying the standard Yaris like they have since 2017.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/08/2019 at 23:01

America won’t get it so it really doesn’t matter.

wafflesnfalafel > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/08/2019 at 23:11

I love them, but I’m not sure there is any kind of market for them unless they are jacked up and outbackified

Maxima Speed > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/08/2019 at 23:31

I don’t see why they would bother as WRC cars are so far removed from their road going cousins that it’s irrelevant. They already run the Yaris in WRC so why would they change. My spirit is broken though and I’ve become pessimistic about the whole fun car thing. Especially how we don’t get any of the good cars and then get to pay massive amounts more for the cars that do get imported due to chronyism, the scam that is car dealerships and of course tariffs which are the dumbest thing ever.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/09/2019 at 01:58

Fortunately, I'm not in America...

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
11/09/2019 at 02:07

If it has a 4 pot motor, AWD, a wider track and a modified roofline like this car appears to have then it bears less resemblance to the current Yaris that most people can buy than the current rules allow....then homologation is required.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > wafflesnfalafel
11/09/2019 at 02:08

Kia does that with the Picanto.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/09/2019 at 09:30

You still get the Fies ta ST, don’t you?

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
11/09/2019 at 09:34

They made every one of those changes you mentioned except the modified roofline to make the current Yaris WRC:

Kinja'd!!!

You are allowed a lot of chassis flexibility under the current WRC rules. If they are going to the lengths of actually making a homologation special instead of just a hot version of the Yaris they are doing it to exploit a loophole in the rules.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
11/09/2019 at 17:27

Yes...but that's the only model of Fiesta we do get and I think it's a low volume import to boot (ie. no more than 100 per annum).