The GR Corolla’s 1980s Grandpa Is The Golf GTI Rival The World Forgot | Carscoops carscoops
Of all the cars in the 2023 GR Corolla’s crosshairs, the Volkswagen Golf R looks like the closest match. Maybe not visually, but its hatchback layout, all-wheel drive power delivery and 300 hp output mean the GR Corolla clearly has beenBut go back almost 40 years, to a time before the Golf R was a twinkle in Wolfsburg’s eye, and it was the Golf GTi that Toyota wanted to beat.
Like the rear-drive coupe and mid-engined MR2, the FX16 as it was known in the U.S. was propelled by the 1.6-litre 4A-GE inline four. That meant it gave away 200 cc to the mid-1980s Golf GTi, but only the Corolla, and not the Golf, got twin-cam, 16-valve heads and independent rear suspension. Critics found plenty to like, but these FX16s are a relatively rare sight today, and struggle to get a namecheck in a conversation about 1980s hot hatches with cars like the Golf