Remember the days when brands would make special versions of some of their models to honor a driver who raced under them? Like Subaru with the Impreza Series McRae, Toyota has the “Carlos Sainz” limited edition of the ST185 Celica, and last but not least, Mitsubishi honored Tommi Mäkinen with a special Lancer Evolution 6 named after him, which some might remember as the “6.5” or “TME.” Building on that tradition, Toyota’s done the same for 9x rally champion Sébastien Ogier with the GR Yaris.
Now this special edition of Toyota’s little hot hatch, based on the enhanced Aero Performance Package version called the Sébastien Ogier 9x World Champion Edition, is meant to honor Ogier’s 2025 WRC championship. Inspired by the title battle went down to the wire in Saudi Arabia, with the Frenchman having achieved 10 podium finishes out of the 11 races, six of them having been victories, with the third-place finish in Jeddah being just enough to clinch the championship at 293 points over fellow Toyota driver Elfyn Evans’ 289 points.
And what has the Aichi outfit done to honor this legacy? Starting with the exterior, this special edition comes in the special color Black Gravite, with matte black wheels and minor details such as Toyota GR on the doors, the GR logo on the rear fenders, and a French tricolor on the grille, paying a nod to Ogier’s nationality.
But this special edition doesn’t just stop at the exterior aesthetics, as the interior includes features like a smaller steering wheel with a series of switches laid out much like what you’d find on the machines Ogier himself piloted across rally stages, all tied together with blue, white, and red stitching.
While all these goodies are great and all, where things get most interesting is the new tweaked drive modes, starting with the SEB mode, which switches the power distribution to 40:60. It has more pointy characteristics than the even 50:50 in the Track mode on the standard versions. Alongside it is the new MORIZO mode, replacing the Gravel mode, which increases how connected the front and rear wheels are to each other, only easing up under braking for maximum traction, something that Akio Toyoda developed during his time in rally racing, which Ogier also favored.
For this special edition, 100 units are set to be released for the Japanese market, with the same number for certain European markets. Those interested would need to win the lottery to get a chance to buy them, though. It’s unclear whether any of these units will reach Philippine shores, but considering how enticing this special edition is – and with the way Toyota Motor Philippines is bolstering its GR lineup – hopefully, it will happen in the future.
Autocar’s Take
From Subaru and McRae, Mitsubishi with Mäkinen, and Toyota with Sainz and again with Ogier, it just goes to show how much appreciation most marques have for their star drivers. Because without the guts of McRae, the calculating nature of Mäkinen, and now the prestige of Ogier, most cars wouldn’t have the enduring legacy they have today, especially with the fact that, be it in terms of capabilities or cultural impact, the drivers matter just as much as the cars they pilot.
