Mat Watson from ‘Carwow’ got three Gazoo Racing race cars to the drag strip for a series of races. The three cars were a 2021 Toyota GR Corolla British Touring car, a 2022 Toyota GR Corolla Touring car, and an old-school 1986 Toyota Corolla AE86. These racing cars are a different breed and aren’t your typical quarter-mile cars. But, the team here decided to put them on the drag strip and see how they perform.

How Much Power Do They Make?

All the oomph is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed manual sequential gearbox.

The 2022 Toyota GR Corolla also features the same engine, power output, and gearbox. This will be quite helpful in drag races. The motor draws power from a 1.6 kWh battery pack.

A five-speed manual gearbox powers the rear wheels here. Fun fact: this car is the 1987 BTCC championship winner.

The 2021 Corolla weighs 2,800 pounds (1,270 kilos). The 2022 Corolla, despite the motor and battery, also weighs the same as the 2021 model. The AE86 is the lightest, weighing in at 1,764 pounds (800 kilos).

The 2022 Corolla Was The Strongest Coming Into The Race

In the first drag race, the 2022 hybrid Corolla was the quickest off the start, followed by the AE86. The 2021 Corolla was the slowest when the race kicked off, but this was partly due to Mat’s inexperience with racing cars and sequential shifting. The 2021 Corolla did manage to get past the AE86, but couldn’t beat the 2022 hybrid Corolla.

The second drag race was slightly better for the 2021 Corolla. It didn’t let the AE86 get past it, but it couldn’t beat the 2022 Corolla either. The end result was still the same – the 2022 hybrid Corolla came in first, 2021 Corolla second, and the AE86 third. The third race was the same as the second.

For the fourth race, the experienced driver, Rory Butcher, got into the 2021 Corolla and Mat Watson stepped into the AE86. While the skills of the drivers matched up in the two newer cars, it boiled down to the extra power boost of the hybrid Corolla that resulted in another victory for it. The hybrid won by the nose this time and the AE86 came last. In this race, the 2022 hybrid Corolla took 13.5 seconds, the 2021 Corolla took 13.6 seconds, and the AE86 took 17 seconds.

The next round was the rolling race from second gear and 3,500 rpm. The 2022 Corolla Hybrid had the best kickdown here as well. The end result was the same as all the drag races.

No surprises in the brake test either. The 2022 Corolla stopped in the shortest distance. The 2021 Corolla’s wheels got locked up and it took a long distance to come to a halt than it should have. The AE86, on the other hand, just kept floating away and took the longest distance to stop. So, overall, the 2022 Toyota GR Corolla Hybrid scored a clean sweep over its rivals in all the tests and races.

Watch the video below and share your thoughts with us in the comments section.