Toyota made a special GR Yaris to celebrate Sébastien Ogier’s 9th WRC title

There are special edition cars made to celebrate certain drivers in motorsports, especially rally cars. Most popularly, we have the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI Tommi Mäkknen edition and the Toyota Celica Carlos Sainz Limited Edition. 

History has repeated itself once again, and the World Rally Championship has a new dominant driver in Sébastien Ogier, winning nine titles, six of which were consecutive, and three of them under the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team. To celebrate that, Toyota Gazoo Racing has given the Frenchman his own special edition car, the aptly named GR Yaris Sébastien Ogier 9x World Champion Edition.

Set to be a limited edition of 200 units (100 for Japan, 100 for certain European markets), this special GR Yaris utilizes the Aero Performance Package for its body, meaning that all the additional aerodynamics found are functional. It’s finished in a new Black Gravite color exclusive to this, with special vinyls found at the bottom, and matte-black wheels to match. However, the French tricolor can be found on the grille, and the brake calipers are finished in Ogier’s signature blue color.

The interior also gets subtle updates, including a brand-new steering wheel that is smaller and has multiple steering-wheel-mounted switches best used in motorsports. This, plus a leather-wrapped vertical handbrake and a special serial number plate to commemorate Ogier’s title for 2025.

The 1.6-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine (G16E-GTS) and transmission choices (six-speed manual and eight-speed direct automatic) remain unchanged, but tweaks to the 4WD system have been made for sharper handling off-road.

The new SEB. mode replaces Track, splitting the torque distribution to a 40:60 front/rear split, allowing the rear to drive the car while having responsiveness in the front wheels, important for off-road stints that aid with stability and control at higher speeds. 

Then, the Morizo mode replaces Gravel, setting front and rear driving torque to an equal 50:50-split for even more traction and cornering performance while off-road, and it only eases up during braking to maintain the car’s agility.

While the chances of us seeing this car make it to our shores are very slim, it’s nice to see the return of rally-based special editions commemorating a very successful driver.

^{Photos from Toyota Gazoo Racing}