Many of us were frothing at the mouth the instant the specs for the 2023 GR Corolla were confirmed. While we wait for official pricing, Toyota has revealed to Carscoops that the first year’s production would be limited to only 8,600 units worldwide, including the Circuit Edition. If you’ve been itching to get your hands on one, you should contact your dealer right immediately.
Mike Tripp, Toyota Vice President of Marketing, told Road & Track last week that the company planned to build “one too few.” According to a Toyota spokeswoman, 6,600 automobiles will be built for the US market, with an additional 2,000 for the rest of the globe. This seems like more than one too few to us, given that it’s the most practical and powerful hot hatch in America since the Ford Focus RS.
“Customers can contact a Toyota dealership about reserving a unit,” a Toyota spokesman said when we inquired. That’s precisely what we did, and you can read about it in the section below. Here’s what Toyota had to say about markups, which has been on everyone’s mind after hearing and experiencing so many horror stories in the age of chip shortages.
“We know that the GR Corolla is generating a lot of interest, and that buyers are eager to be among the first to acquire the new vehicle,” a Toyota representative stated. “Toyota has created a Manufacturers’ Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), which is a manufacturer-suggested retail price. Because our dealers are small company owners, the ultimate transaction pricing will be determined by the customer’s contacts with the dealer. Our sales team has met with our regional offices to request that they be informed about transaction pricing and speak with dealers as needed.”
1,500 of the 6,600 handsets arriving in the United States will be fully equipped Circuit Edition models. Suede-trimmed seats, large hood vents, limited-slip differentials, black-painted exterior trim, and a large rear spoiler are all included. A carbon-fiber roof is an optional feature that Core trim purchasers will not be able to order.
Thankfully, most of the significant performance increases will be offered as optional options for the 5,100 Core customers. A unique Performance Package will bundle a number of attractive features for an unspecified fee. For the time being, that’s a common theme with the GR Corolla.
Toyota hasn’t said anything about how much the standard Core trim will cost or how much the Circuit Edition will cost. The former might start from the mid $30s (if we’re lucky) to $40,000, while the latter could start around $45,000, which sounds like a lot of money for a three-cylinder Corolla. Okay, maybe not exactly, but you get the idea.
Still, we won’t be surprised if many of those who receive an allocation wind up selling this automobile for a higher price. We can only hope that Toyota has devised a strategy to prevent dealers from overpricing them.
A few of us at Carscoops have asked for information on how to purchase one of these for ourselves. My editor and I each contacted various dealerships in our respective states for information, including whether or not we might join a waiting list. Leaving aside the bot answers and “let me get you in a 2022 Corolla with a $500 downpayment in 4-6 months,” a few said they could place our name on a “email waiting list” and contact us once they had more information. When we enquired about pricing and allocation, one dealer who was genuinely familiar with the automobile provided us some fascinating information.
“There is no pricing and no timetable.” I can assume that each dealer has been given around 3. “Only three.” We’ve contacted Toyota to confirm this, and we’ll update our post once they respond, but the arithmetic isn’t too far off, given that the Toyota group has roughly 1,500 dealers across the United States.
A handful of dealers also verified what we had heard even before the debut: the GR Corolla would come this autumn, namely in October (thanks to this guy’s girlfriend) (at least in NY).
Because it’s the only game in town after Subaru confirmed that it won’t be selling a 2023 WRX STI, we expect places to fill up quickly.
sources: carscoops
