Drag race: Toyota Supra 3.0L vs Litchfield-tuned Toyota GR Yaris

There’s no denying that the Toyota GR Yaris is one of the best small performance cars around, but there’s no way it can beat the likes of a 3.0-litre Toyota Supra in a quarter-mile drag race, surely? Well, this particular GR Yaris has a trick up its sleeve that could even the score…

Tap the video to watch the race.

As standard, the GR Yaris comes with a frenetic 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine with 261hp and 360Nm of torque. However, hand your GR Yaris to Litchfield and it can remap the ECU and fit a new air filter to bump power to 302hp and torque to 385Nm. That’s plenty in a car that weighs just 1,280kg.

Besides those fairly minor tweaks, the rest of this GR Yaris is identical to when it left the factory. So, it has a six-speed manual gearbox, four-wheel drive and (thanks to the optional £3,500 circuit pack) limited-slip front and rear differentials, retuned suspension and some grippier tyres.

All-in, this tweaked GR Yaris will set you back £34,135. That sounds like a lot for a small Toyota hatchback, but it’s getting on for £20,000 less than a Toyota Supra. That two-seater sports car comes with a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six engine with 340hp and 500Nm of torque and will set you back £53,000.

Unlike the GR Yaris with its old-fashioned manual gearbox, the Supra gets an eight-speed automatic unit with launch control. Although, this particular launch-control system is shared with BMW (just like the car’s engine) and it has proved to be fairly inconsistent in the past.

The Supra is also heavier than the GR Yaris. Despite having fewer seats and rear-wheel drive instead of four-wheel drive, it tips the scales at 1,495kg – that’s 215kg more than the GR Yaris.

But surely it’ll take more than a £600 tune and a fancy forty-quid air filter to give the Yaris the edge in this race? You’ll just have to watch the video to find out…

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