Speak of the Nürburgring, and you’d usually think of some superfast performance car that can lap the ‘Ring in about seven and a half minutes. Point is, a boring ol’ sedan like the Corolla will probably never cross your mind, but believe it or not – Toyota Thailand has just unveiled a special Nürburgring package for the Corolla Altis in the Land of Smiles.
Confused? We should explain. You see, since 2017, Toyota Gazoo Racing Thailand has entered the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the SP3 class with a souped up Corolla race car. And for the last two years, they’ve actually found massive success with back to back class victories, including a 1-2 finish last year!
So as a celebration of their wins, the marque’s local Thailand arm decided to sport up the Corolla with a new set of accessories called the Nürburgring Package that consists of a body kit plus some “performance upgrades”.
The body kit, as expected, is inspired by the team’s actual 24H Nürburgring race car. The resemblance is most noticeable at the front, especially with the twin nostrils beside the Toyota logo, and the split lower intake.
The all-new Toyota Corolla is now available in Malaysia, offered in two variants. Check it out here!
Also included in the body kit are the more aggressive-looking side skirts, plus a new bumper at the back featuring a diffuser-like element at the bottom, bookended by two faux air vents. More importantly, though, are the exclusive Nürburgring badges that sit proudly behind the front fenders, which is sure to shave a couple of seconds off your lap time just by itself.
You see how we put “performance upgrades” in quotation marks? Well, that’s because there isn’t any “real” boost in performance, at least in terms of powertrain. The package is offered on both the 1.8 Sport and 1.8 Hybrid variants, and for either of them, you’ll still get the same powertrain found in their base cars.
That means for the 1.8 Sport, you get a 1.8-litre 2ZR-FBE petrol engine making 140 hp and 177 Nm that’s paired to a CVT gearbox, and for the 1.8 Hybrid variants, an Atkinson Cycle 1.8-litre engine that’s mated to an electric motor for a combined output of 122 hp.
What you do get, however, is a set of lowering springs, alongside a new throttle control box that promises better throttle response. So even though there’s no boost in power output, the Toyota Corolla with Nürburgring Package should still feel a little snappier to drive – no matter how miniscule the difference actually is.
The whole Nürburgring Package for the Toyota Corolla is supposedly worth somewhere around THB42,000 (approx. RM5.1k), but Toyota Thailand will be offering it for free to buyers of the few variants listed above, alongside a “first-class” motor insurance worth THB31,000 (approx. RM3.8k).
GALLERY
