As some of you may know, the Toyota Starlet is still alive and well in some parts of the world. It lives today as a rebadged version of the Suzuki Baleno in the African market. In fact, it’s one of several Suzuki models that wear a Toyota badge in the region.
Of course, if you say Starlet to any of your car-loving titos, they’ll conjure images of a small, rear-wheel drive hatchback that became the slalom driver’s favorite back in the day. Over in Europe, it too found its place in the amateur rally divisions all over the continent. And here’s a fun fact for you, the World Rally Championship’s youngest title holder, Kalle Rovanperä, cut his teeth in a Starlet.
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Given that the current Starlet is really a Suzuki product, it’s highly unlikely that there will ever be a Gazoo Racing version. Apparently, nobody got that memo in South Africa.
Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa decided to build one themselves. The result is a rally car that competes in the South African National Rally Championship. It competes in the NRC 1 class, the highest class in the series.
While the exterior does resemble a Starlet, it’s totally unrelated to the model sitting in showrooms. For starters, it ditches the road car’s 1.5-liter engine for a turbocharged 2.0-liter mill. Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa didn’t mention how much power it’s making, but we reckon it’s a lot more than the standard model’s 105hp and 138Nm output. On top of that, it’s all-wheel drive and shifts with a sequential gearbox.
Its suspension has been beefed up to take on the punishing high-speed off-road driving that it has to face. Big vented brakes are present, so too are wider fenders, lightweight panels, and chunky rally tires. All in all, it’s a serious piece of kit, and who would've thought Toyota would turn a Suzuki into a rally car? That sure opens up a whole world of possibilities. GR Jimny, anyone?
Of course, it's unlikely that there will be a road-going version of this competition-spec Toyota Starlet. We doubt Suzuki will let another company take a peek under its hood, and it's highly unlikely that Toyota will be given access to even tune the engine. Then again, the GR Starlet rally car exists, and maybe there's a surprise in store down the line.
