This Rare Toyota Yaris RS TRD Turbo M Is An Attainable Slice Of JDM Fun

With the unveiling of the new Mazda 2 Hybrid (which isn’t really a Mazda, but they say is a Mazda, and definitely isn’t a poorly disguised Toyota Yaris), we became inspired to do a spot of classified ad hunting. Be honest, you spend an awful lot of time doing the same, don’t you? That’s fine, it’s a socially acceptable guilty pleasure!

Embarking on the customary journey of setting several filters, all of which are tailored towards getting more for your money than you really should be, we stumbled across a truly special throwback and forefather to a car that the entire world is raving about: the GR Yaris.

For those that don’t know, Toyota only made several hundred RS Turbo versions of the MK2 Yaris (known as the Vitz in Japan). It then sent a handful of their contingent to their in-house tuning division Toyota Racing Development (TRD), which ultimately yielded the extremely rare Yaris RS TRD Turbo M.

The one pictured here looks to be in immaculate condition, especially since it has just 63,000 miles on the odometer. While we do love our high-mileage heroes here at Car Throttle, a car with below-average use will always catch our eye too.

This is especially true in the case of this eBay advertised 2007 Yaris, and even more so when you consider just how elusive they are. While it’s not known exactly how many RS Turbo TRD’s went into circulation, we know very few of these JDM specials made it to the UK.

It comes with a decent amount of amenities for a supermini of its day. Auxiliary heating, keyless entry, and a premium sound system are among the optional extras. To spruce up the interior, TRD equipped the Yaris with a rev counter that has a rev set option and a pair of boost gauges. At some point, someone’s added a Nardi steering wheel and a Bride driver’s seat to this one.

And now, onto the really fun stuff. This TRD Yaris example has a forged dump valve, an Apexi suspension kit and a sporty stainless steel exhaust system. The power is now at 170bhp, up from the 1.5’s stock figure of 150bhp. That’s a healthy output in such a small, light car.

This particular car remains relatively untouched on the whole, though, further cementing the want factor. It certainly strikes a chord with us, and we’re sure it does with you too. £6,995 represents decent value for this pocket-sized ball of fun that’s rarer than a Porsche 918 Spyder, don’t you think?