WHATEXACTLYisa ToyotaYarisAP4?I’mgladyouasked.With
nomoreLancerEvolution,rallyistswereleftwitha choiceof
aSubaruWRXSTI ornothing,sotheAP4regulationswere
conceivedtoallowessentiallyanybasicshoppingcartobe
transformedintoa turbocharged,all-wheeldriveforestflyer.
TheconceptisverysimilartotheR5machinesthatcompete
intheWRC,butwithouttheneedforFIAhomologationandat
a lowercostthantheroughly$400,000neededtolanda newR5
carinAustralia.NealBatesadmitsthatif Toyotamadea Yaris
R5they'dprobablybeusingit,butsinceitdoesn’thisteam
beganthetrickyprocessofcreatinga rallycarfromscratch.
AsNealsays:“It’sbeenanincrediblytoughproject.”Withno
templatetoworkfrom,histeamhasspent 18 monthsusing
30 years of rallyingexperience todevelop theYaris tothe
pointwhereitcannowholditsownagainstthelatestfactory
machineryfromEurope.AndnowI gettodriveit.
Thankfully, Harryisonhand toteachmetheropesbut,
cleverly,he’sbroughtLewis’scarformetolearnthemin.I’ve
dabbledinrallyingbeforebutamodifiedDaihatsuCharade
isn’texactlya naturalsteppingstonetoa 300bhpARCfront-
runner.Internationaldrivingexperiencemeansleft-handdrive
isokay– theYarisisleft-hooktoprepareHarryforanyfuture
overseasoutings– butI’veneveruseda sequential’boxbefore.
It’snotdifficult,asitturnsout.Theclutchisonlyrequired
fromrest;afterthat,simplypullorpushtheleverasrequired,
butupshiftsinparticularrequirequitea bitofmuscle.Afull
weekend's rallying – including hundreds of kilometres of
transportstages– wouldrequirea lotofstamina.
AP4regulationsrequirea 1.6-litreenginesoToyota’s2ZZ1.8-
litrefourwasdestrokedanda turboadded,breathingthrough
a 34mminletrestrictor.Measurethatwithyourfingers,it’snot
verywide.Nevertheless,theYarisproduces224kWand420Nm
andweighsjust1230kgsowithextremelyshortgearing– top
speedislessthan200km/h– it’sa reasonablyrapidmachine.
Thesteeringisverylight,solightthatI wonderhowHarry,
wholikestodriveinthemodernSebastienLoeb/Ogierstyleof
leaningonthefronttyres,managestofindtherequiredlevelof
communication.Talent,I suppose.Luckily,I’ma similarheight
totheBatesboyssothedrivingpositionisaboutright,albeit
quitehigh.Withitsgravel-specsetup,theYarissitsequallyhigh
anditssoftnessleadstobig-timebodyroll.
Thissoftnessallowslotsofweighttransfer,keytogettingthe
Yaristoturnasitrunsnocentrediff,justa fixed50:50torque
split.“Thesenewbreedofcarsaresetupquitesoft,”explains
Harry.“I’llusuallyrunquiteabit offrontbias becauseI’m
lookingtobereallyaggressiveunderbrakes,becauseif it’son
itsnoseI cangettheturnthatI want.”
Assuch,theYarislovestoslide.A dabofbrakesanda flickof
steeringsetsit upandit’sthenchild’splaytousethepedalsto
endlesslyadjustitsattitude.Swappingtarmacforgravelonly
makestheprocesseasier,theaimbeingtoswingtherearout
wideoncornerentrysoallfourwheelsarepointingstraight
towardstheexitformaximumtraction.
ClearlysatisfiedI’mnota completeliability,Harrytweaksa
smallknobonthecentreconsoleandengagestheYaris’santi-
lagsystem,keepingtheturbospinningconstantlyforinstant
power.What’sremarkableishoweasytheYarisistodrive.The
light steering, progressive chassis and responsive, torquey
enginemakeitsecondnaturetoindulgeinhugeslidesunder
powerorbrakes.
Butit’snotHarryandLewis’sjobtohavefun.Theyneed
towinandtheYarisAP4issofriendlyI wonderif itwouldbe
easytolettimeslipawaywithoutrealisingit.What’scertain
isI needa YarisAP4;noroadcarcandeliverthisamountof
entertainment.Nealismorethanhappytooblige,butwants
$250,000inreturn.Forsale:onekidney,slightlyused.– SNYARIS AP4
Gravel-eatinghothatchain'tyourGrandma'sshoppingcar
OPPOSITE TOP
Destroked2ZZ from
Celicaproduces
224kW/420Nm and
revsto7000rpmABOVEHow to
buildanAP4:attach
standardYaris shell to
a jigandmodify floor
toacceptpropshaft
andreardiff.Move fuel
tanktomiddle, tweak
suspensiontowers
forextratravel,
turbochargeengine
andinstallall-wheel
drivesystem.Easy➜
d motorofficial f motor_mag^99