The Tiny Supercharged Toyota You’ve Never Heard Of (And Can’t Buy)

If you think the GR Corolla is the coolest hot hatch Toyota has ever made, think again. Long before Gazoo Racing became the performance powerhouse it is today, the team cooked up something far stranger: a supercharged version of the Scion iQ. Yes, that tiny city car. S. legally.

That might change in 2037, but for now, it’s a secret gem of automotive history.

Let’s go back to 2009. Toyota’s motorsport arm, then in its infancy, decided to prove itself by tuning a car nobody expected: the Toyota iQ. 3-liter four-cylinder making just 94 horsepower. But Gazoo Racing didn’t add power. Instead, they focused on the chassis, stiffer suspension, rear disc brakes, and lightweight 16-inch Rays wheels.

The result was the iQ GRMN, a sharp-looking little hatchback that handled like a go-kart. It cost about $21,000, roughly double the base car. Only 100 were made.

Then, in 2012, Gazoo Racing went further. 3-liter engine, boosting output to 120 horsepower and 128 lb-ft of torque. With a curb weight under 2,200 pounds, the iQ GRMN Supercharger could hit 60 mph in about nine seconds. It felt quicker, trust us. Again, just 100 were built, and the price jumped to nearly $38,000, triple the regular iQ.

Today, used examples in Japan sell for $20,000 to $41,000. , you’ll have to wait until 2037. Or, you can look forward to the 2027 GRMN Corolla, the first official GRMN model sold stateside. It’s bigger, faster, and likely much pricier. But it won’t be half as weird.