This year Toyota will be returning to the annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show displaying the Toyota GR Corolla as the official pace car for the National Auto Sport Championship (NASA) this December in Indianapolis.
However, this hot hatch is not just any old Toyota Corolla. In fact, the GR Corolla that will be used as the pace car for the NASA Championship is the Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Edition Pace Car. The Corolla has been on a celebrity tour with NASA and will be displayed at this roadshow as well. What is even more exciting is that the Morizo edition will also be put on sale which will also come with a bunch of perks.
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The Morizo Edition
Having already led the race at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex, the Toyota GR Corolla Morizo edition pace car is now on its way to the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis marking its return for the PRI between December 7th and 9th. The pace car will be a proper look people can get off the hot hatch before they can order their own.
The Toyota GR Corolla Morizo Edition is the most hardcore track-focused Corolla of their own. The engine is tuned by Gazoo Racing, the official motorsports division of Toyota, responsible for delivering some of the fastest cars from the manufacturer. It consists of a turbocharged 1.6L I-3 engine mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox capable of producing 300 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque.
The AWD system used in the GR Corolla is developed by Toyota’s rally racing team and gives drivers the choice of 60:40, 50:50, or 30:70 power distribution between the front and rear wheels. The hothatch is among the fastest hatchbacks and is available exclusively with an intelligent manual transmission or iMT gearbox. The Morizo edition also sports the red, black and white theme that is reminiscent of the Toyota Motorsports and Endurance racing liveries.
Toyota NASA Partnership
Toyota’s partnership with the Nationa Auto Sport Association led to the GR Corolla being part of the NASA Championship. However, it does not end there. Toyota and NASA have also partnered to start a program where every customer who buys a 2024 Toyota GR Corolla will receive a one-year NASA membership as part of the deal, along with one complimentary track day at a NASA High-Performance Driving Event.
This program was started in 2019 with the Toyota GR Supra where the owners could get a performance experience under the guidance of expert instructors. Today the program includes all GR sports cars with the Toyota GR86 and the GR Corolla being the latest to join. According to NASA CEO Jeremey Croiset, this program is a way to “introduce sports car owners to the world of performance driving in a safe and responsible manner”.
Final Thoughts
Toyota has made quite a name for itself in the world of motorsports, especially in the world of rally racing. So it is no surprise that Toyota would partner up with NASA. The partnership, however, does not expand to just the car that it included when it started, but also all other GR cars that came in later, including the GR Corolla.
The will now come with the same perks as well. If that were not enough, this year will also mark the return of Toyota to the Performance Racing Industry Show where the GR Corolla NASA Pace Car will be put on display between the 7th and 9th of December.
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