2020 Toyota Yaris Gets TRD and Modellista Body Kits in Japan

4 years, 9 months ago - 3 January 2020, autoevolution
2020 Toyota Yaris Gets TRD and Modellista Body Kits in Japan
The all-new Toyota Yaris is already one of the hottest-looking little hatchbacks on the planet.

However, that wasn't enough for the Japanese automaker, which cooked up some spicy body kits in time for the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon.

It's pretty common for a major Toyota product to get official body kits in Japan, where they have a much cooler dealership network. However, one of these projects is a little confusing.

TRD, the company responsible for making your Tacoma look juicy, has previewed a very race-ready look which confusingly also wears the GR badges of the real hot hatch. As a reminder, the Yaris GR is going to be a monster with 250 horsepower from a 1.6-liter turbo engine.

Even though it looks fast, the Yaris GR Parts hasn't got engine mods, which in Japan could mean less than 100 horsepower and a CVT gearbox option. But the body kit is very impressive. The face of the hatch as been blacked out and sports a new grille. Below that, extra aero elements have been added to create a deep chin. If the Civic Type R had a smaller cousin, this is what it would look like.

The sides haven't been left untouched either, as new side skirts and aero over the top of the doors hint at downforce issues a Yaris will never experience. Of course, the extensive TRD parts catalog also includes door handle covers, a trunk matt, accessory lights, and even a faux carbon number plate.

Working with Toyota, the tuner Modellista has also readied a body kit, though its version of the Yaris looks more classy. The same areas get targeted - bumpers and skirts. However, the body-matching paint, smaller wheels and added chrome accents hint at an upmarket treatment. There's even a custom interior with tanned leather seats (probably not real leather) and a matching toffy-colored dashboard. It's certainly different, though not to our taste.