The AC100-Gen Toyota Vios Has Gone Racing!

Say hello to the new AC100-gen Toyota Vios racecar! This will be a mainstay for teams and drivers in the seventh season of the Vios Challenge next year.

When we tested the fourth generation Toyota Vios (AC100) earlier this year, what caught us by surprise was its sporty driving chops right out of the box. Certainly, the folks at UMW Toyota Motor knew this well, and this perhaps fuelled the firm to fast-track the debut of said model in racecar trim this weekend.

Shown for the first time at the on-going Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival Season 6 Finale at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC), a handful of these new AC100-gen based Vios Challenge one-make racecars are being raced by the celebrity racers in said one-make racing championship’s Promotional Class.

At first glance, it easy to see how this racecar version of the AC100-gen Vios mirrors closely to the stock, road-going version.

These new AC100-gen Vios Challenge will become a mainstay of the Vios Challenge next year when UMW Toyota Motor supplies it to teams and drivers across the pro-level Super Sporting, amateur-level Sporting, and celebrity-led Promotional classes.

We’ve taken a close gander at the car in the flesh earlier today. Speaking with the celebrity racers who’ve driven it, the AC100-gen Vios Challenge racecar stands to be both a quicker and better-handling machine over its immediate predecessor which has been in use for six seasons now.

Look closely and note that this earlier batch machine still uses the stock car's CVT automatic. This will be replaced with a 5-speed manual transmission in the final version for next year.

On board, this Vios' cabin has been almost completely gutted to house a competition-spec roll cage, harness, seats, and fire suppression system.

Like said immediate predecessor, the AC100-gen Vios Challenge one-make racecar sees its cabin gutted almost completely. This reduces weight and allow the housing of a competition-spec (read: FIA-approved) roll cage plus six-point racing harness, along with an on-board fire extinguishing system.

The road car’s 1.5-litre 4-cyl powertrain, on the other hand, sees minimal modifications in this race-spec version. It features a race exhaust manifold, mid-section, and muffler set; newly added limited-slip differential (LSD), as well as race-tuned suspension, amongst the bevy of other performance hardware.

Unlike its predecessor, this new AC100-gen Vios Challenge racecar doesn't sport a large rear wing as its predecessor did. It also swaps out the road car's 17-inch wheels for 15-inch ones shod in grippier race tyres.

Notably, the cars raced by the celebrities this weekend are an earlier batch primed with the standard road car’s CVT automatic box. UMW Toyota Motor however notes that the final version of the AC100-gen Vios Challenge cars it will supply next year will come primed with race-tuned 5-speed manual transmissions.

Visually, the race-spec AC100-gen Vios appears similar to the standard roadcar, albeit with some key differences. Key amongst which is its adoption of smaller 15-inch wheels shod in sticky track tyres supplied by Toyo Tires, and its minimal aerodynamic add-ons  - there’s no large rear spoiler as seen in its predecessor.

UMW Toyota Motor says that registration for Season 7, as well as purchases of the new AC100-gen Vios Challenge car, can be done immediately by teams and drivers.

Beyond these race-derived changes and modifications, it’s plain to see that this track-focused version of the AC100-gen Vios remains largely unchanged from the road-going production model it’s based on.

For teams and drivers, registration for Season 7 of the Vios Challenge and purchases of the new AC100-gen racecar can be done immediately with the series’ Race Management representative. More details and further enquires for which can be done online via Toyota.com.my.