The GR Yaris is currently offered exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. However, Toyota has been working on a new eight-speed transmission that it calls GR-DAT, or "Direct Auto Transmission," which it believes will offer drivers an engaging enough experience.
According to Japan's Mag X, Toyota will unveil a version of the hot hatch equipped with an automatic transmission at the Tokyo Auto Salon next year. This event will be held from January 12 to 14.
Already in use in a prototype GR Yaris racecar, no less a source than Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda called this new transmission a "game-changer". Billed as a gearbox that bridges the gap between the engaging but hard-to-learn manual and the easy-to-use but imprecise automatic, Toyoda said the DAT helped him shave enough time off his laps to keep up with professional drivers like Hiroaki Ishiura, who was also given the opportunity to test the technology.
“On a racetrack, a regular AT feels slippery, giving you little sense of a direct connection (with the gears),” Ishiura told the Toyota Times magazine back in October. “That’s where the D in DAT comes in: Direct. It locks in from the moment you set off, responding linearly to gas pedal input and allowing you to shave time off your laps without any loss.”
Toyota GR Yaris (2020)
In addition to the automatic version of the GR Yaris, Toyota is also reportedly working on two limited edition models to celebrate its recent success in the World Rally Championship: the Ogier Edition and the Rovenpara Edition, named after the rally drivers who helped develop the car. They will be unveiled ahead of the 2024 Monte Carlo Rally, which runs from January 24-28, and will be limited to 100 units each.
Source: Mag X
