Race Bred Yaris & Urban Cruiser At SEMA

It may be Las Vegas, but all bets are off when America’s top custom car design teams are commissioned to create stand-out show machines for SEMA, the USA’s number one trade show for the specialist auto parts industry. Toyota seized the opportunity to parade beefed-up race and rally versions of Yaris and Urban Cruiser and a street-mean interpretation of Prius at the show, taking place this week.

The Yaris GT-S Club Racer is the real deal, a race car created by SportsCar Magazine that proved a double class winner in this year’s SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) competition. Based on a road-going five-door model, the car was stripped out and fitted with a carbon fibre bonnet and hatch in order to meet the weight regulations. Power from the 1.5-litre VVT-i engine was beefed up from 106 to 145bhp with the addition of performance parts and handling was sharpened with a limited slip diff, slick tyres and Jongbloed Racing wheels. The GT-S name harks back to the celebrated Celica GT-S competition cars of the 1980s, while the graphics pay homage to Dan Gurney’s All American Racing team which fielded the all-conquering IMSA GTP Eagle Toyota cars in the 1990s.

0-60 Magazine is behind the transformation of Urban Cruiser into a full-blooded rally car. A Sparco interior, roll-over cage, Tein suspension, Quaife LSD and Greddy performance exhaust are all included in the complete competition make-over. Attention to detail extends to the car being fitted out with a rally timing computer and on-board HD cameras. The livery on the concept pays homage to Toyota's succesful World Rally Car heritage.

Credits: wilswong