As NZ prepares to release the upgraded production editions of this pocket rocket, home base has shown off an extreme example.

BACK seat drivers will never be welcomed into the single best car Toyota Gazoo Racing produces - with a special edition just unveiled, there’s no room for them anyhow.

Toyota’s high-performance division put on quite a show at the Tokyo motor show held over the weekend.

One star attraction is the GR Yaris. Not the updated regular one the local distributor is just releasing in $61,990 manual and freshly-added $64,990 automatic forms but a further development that sadly won’t go into the showroom.

The GR Yaris M stands out for having the engine where the back seat should be. Yes, ‘M’ stands for ‘midship’.

As said, a mid-engined Yaris would likely be even more fun than the standard car, and the M has an even larger donk with a 298kW-plus 2.0-litre turbo unit replacing the regular, now 221kW 1.6-litre. 

However, the brand has made clear this version is unlikely to become an actual production-ready choice. It’s actually just a development car, designed to be hacked around the Nurburgring (and other race tracks) just to see what it would feel like.

Still, the make has vowed that lessons learned will filter back to production models. 

According to Gazoo Racing, the idea is to: “implement “driver-first” carmaking, in which cars are repeatedly driven to failure and then repaired in the extreme conditions of racing and in which “feedback from ‘Morizo’ (the racing nom de plume of Toyota president Akio Toyoda), professional drivers, and gentleman drivers is thoroughly incorporated.” 

With that ideal in mind, Toyota will return to the Nurburgring 24 hours race this year, with the GR Yaris. (The black car seen here). 

Back in 2014, Akio Toyoda won his class racing in this race, and that was the catalyst for a lot of Gazoo Racing’s work since. News the brand is returning six years since it last competed with a works team was shared at the weekend.

Entry as Toyota Gazoo Rookie Racing is a bit tongue cheek as the drivers will include Akio/Morizo, his son Daisuke Toyoda and Toyota Gazoo Racing works drivers Kazuya Oshima and Hiroaki Ishiura. All are experienced racing drivers. 

Those driving a road going GR Yaris might feel a little jealous by now, but the brand has something to give you, too.

Gazoo used the Tokyo show to display a new optional aero body kit for the GR Yaris, which includes a fully adjustable rear wing (below) and a factory-installed vertical handbrake that would surely have to be the ultimate in hairpin-tackling.

There are also some software upgrades for the GR86 coupe being shown off, including an improved automatic throttle blip when changing down in the manual gearbox model. 

All GR models will also be getting an updated ‘Circuit Mode’ added to the driving modes. When this detects, via GPS, that you’re at an approved racing circuit, it automatically switches the vehicle’s instrument panel to a dedicated gauge display that intuitively shows shift timing and engine rpm. Sadly, the only circuits this applies to are all in Japan. For now.