A few leaked images of an as-yet-unrevealed, souped-up Toyota Corolla have revved up some sports car lovers.
Toyota planned to unveil its new Gazoo Racing sports car at 9:30 p.m. EDT Thursday. But information about the 2023 Toyota GR Corolla apparently hit the automaker's website early Thursday, according to the Motor Authority website.
"It didn't take long for keen eyes to spot the mistake and post about it on Reddit," Motor Authority said.
Users of the social site liked the hatchback's expected 300-horsepower engine, carbon roof and triple exhaust pipes. "I never thought that, at any point in my life, I would be jealous of people getting a Corolla," wrote one Reddit poster using the ID "dreadnought_81."
Motor Authority also noted: "The exterior looks like a pumped-up Corolla with flared fenders housing a wider track, rear diffuser and functional vents on the fenders."
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Site operators also viewed a YouTube video, since taken down, with an animated version of the new car "running through its gears so fans could hear what the turbo-3 sounds like."
The new Corolla, noted the U.K. car news site Autocar, has "a much more aggressive body design in line with its performance billing, with an expansive front grille, new bonnet vents, a chunky rear spoiler, flared arches and triple-exit exhausts the most obvious differentiators over the standard Toyota Corolla."
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It added that "performance alloy wheels and beefy brakes round out the visual overhaul, but unlike the hot Yaris it retains a pair of rear doors."
Car and Driver also spotted the leaked Corolla details and highlighted, "the new performance model has AWD and a 300-hp version of the turbo 1.6-liter three-cylinder from the GR Yaris," a sports car released in 2021 that was not made available in the United States.
Toyota plans to livestream its unveiling of the sports car on Vimeo at 9:30 p.m. EDT.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
