An all-wheel drive setup would have a combustion engine driving the front axle, and an electric motor driving the rear.
Although the Toyota Corolla does not currently have a performance variant that can compete with the Honda Civic Si or Volkswagen Golf GTI models, the brand may soon fill this gap.
According to Drive, Yasushi Ueda (the Corolla Hatchback’s chief engineering) said that “We don’t have any specific plan yet.” “Of course, in the future the idea of a hybrid hot sounds very good.”
Ueda clearly isn’t ready yet to commit to anything, but he tells Drive that this possible Corolla hot-hat would likely be all-wheel driven, using a combustion engine for the front and an electric motor to drive the rear. Similar layout is used in the RAV4 hybrid.
The Corolla Hatchback will go on sale this summer in the United States with a base cost of $19,900 with six-speed manual or $21,090 with CVT. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine produces 168 horsepower (125kilowatts) & 151 pound-feet (251 Newton-meters).
Toyota’s new TGNA platform has not yet been adopted by the Corolla sedan. The next-generation model will be available in 2019, however. The styling of the four door will be similar to that of the hatch. They will be built at Toyota’s existing Mississippi factory and at the joint venture plant with Mazda in Alabama.
It would be another sign that Toyota is returning to its performance goals of years past if a Corolla hot hatch arrives. The 86 has given its approval for a second generation. The company is also working on a production version for the Toyota GR Super Sport Concept, which would have 986 hp (735 kW).