Stirring formula for latest Corolla

By DAVID LINKLATER

A Corolla with performance cred? You bet. Meet Toyota New Zealand's new GT version, which revives a classic badge and gives the big-selling hatch a big kick in the pants.

TNZ first offered a Corolla GT in 1985, in both three-door "hatchback" and five-door "liftback" versions, with an 88KW/138Nm 1.6-litre engine. Hot stuff at the time.

The recipe for the 2003 Corolla GT is even more stirring. Like the cooking Corolla, the GT has a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine. But that's where they part company, because the GT's motor comes straight from the Celica coupe and boasts extra lift for the variable valve timing system - or VVT-iL in Toyota talk.

The result is peak power of 141kW - 41kW more than the standard Corolla - produced at a heady 7800rpm.

This is not a Corolla for the faint-hearted. The hot 1.8 drives through a close-ratio six-speed gearbox, which spins at a busy 3150rpm in top at 100km/h. The VVT-iL system doesn't achieve maximum lift until 6000rpm, which translates to 77km/h in second and 105km/h in third.

The GT rides 15mm lower than the standard Corolla on sports suspension and features a body kit, full leather trim and "high definition" backlit-red instruments.

Unlike the rest of TNZ's Japanese-built Corollas, the new hotshoe hatch is sourced from South Africa and imported via Australia (which recently shifted to SA production). This is the only country where it will be called GT - in South Africa it wears the curious RunX RSi moniker, while in Australia it's Corolla Sportivo.

The GT goes on sale in the final quarter of this year, with TNZ promising a sub-$40,000 price.