Toyota Corolla Cross gears up for Brazil’s Stock Car Pro

Toyota Gazoo Racing took a compact-sized Corolla crossover and turned it into a pure race car for the Stock Car Pro championship in Brazil. It won’t debut until the next season, though, so let’s take a closer look at it in the meantime.

Although it does look a little bit like its production cousin (see video), this Corolla Cross is an entirely different beast. The taillights and the badges are the only things left stock, while the whole body has been overhauled with carbon fiber, glass fiber and Kevlar panels. A large front splitter, fender flares, a rear diffuser and a rear wing help with the aerodynamics, while numerous air intakes provide adequate cooling.

A 2.1-liter turbo engine under the hood sends around 507 PS (500 hp / 373 kW) to the rear wheels through an XTrac six-speed sequential transmission. The suspension is racing-focused and features Penske adjustable shocks along with pushrods. The brake system makes use of AP Racing calipers and Hipper Freios rotors.

Once it hits the track in Brazil, this Toyota GR Corolla Cross Racer will contend against similarly tuned Chevrolet Tracker and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross models. All three are based on the same Audace SNG01 platform that complies with the regulations of the tournament.

Toyota has been holding the champion’s title in this racing series for four years now, with 49 individual victories across 106 races. Most of those were claimed with a somewhat heavier, slower and less technologically sophisticated Corolla sedan, so we are excited to see the new Cross outperform its predecessor.