Toyota just announced the GRMN Corolla and the weird thing is I only care about the wheel color. GRMN (Gazoo Racing Masters of Nürburgring) sits above the Morizo Edition in Toyota’s performance hierarchy. Like the GRMN Yaris, it’s the badge Toyota reserves for the sharpest track-focusedest expression of a platform. The Corolla is only the second GRMN nameplate to reach production scale, as what we all thought was the Supra GRMN ended up carrying a “Final Edition” moniker.
The real specification that caught my eye was the new Matte Bronze wheels wearing a stamped GR logo like your fanciest forged Volks, wrapped in 245/40ZR18 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2. The tire is 10mm wider than the 235/40R18 Pilot Sport 4 on the Core and Circuit trims, which if you read the marketing, is what Toyota really wants you to focus on. But if you’re comparing the GRMN to the Morizo, the tire specs are effectively identical as the Morizo Edition runs 245/40R18 Cup 2 as well.
As far as anyone can tell, it’s the same forged BBS as the Morizo Edition with the 18x8.5” +30 dimension across every GR Corolla variant, but it’s Matte Bronze that sticks out to me. OEM wheel color has followed a boringly predictable arc: silver until silver felt cheap, gunmetal until gunmetal was no longer “in”, then a decade-long retreat into gloss and matte black that is now bog standard for RAV4s, CR-Vs, Camrys, and Accords. Black wheels became the answer to every question, but I think the only question was hiding brake dust.
Subaru put gold on the STi for a generation, but it seems most factory stuff has drifted toward safe. Porsche has always understood that a special car earns a bold color, even on the wheels, and it looks like Toyota is reaching the same conclusion. Matte Bronze on a halo edition is a course correction. I hope this is the start of a trend because my stable of cars has enough black wheels already.
We will obviously update the GR Corolla wheel guide with weights on the GRMN wheels once they are confirmed, but just based on design let’s assume within ounces of the Morizo Edition’s 18.5 lbs. Show me your GRMN when you get it. Until then, happy motoring!