Hottest Hatch: Students Stuff A Kawasaki ZX-14R Engine In A Toyota iQ

If you said the words “Toyota Yaris” to most people, chances are good they wouldn’t exactly quake in their boots. Now, there is of course the bonkers all-wheel-drive GR Yaris that plenty of enthusiasts outside the U.S. got, but that’s a different story. Still, the little car (yes, car) we’re about to tell you about isn’t one of those, either. Instead, it goes by the project name “Yaris Jr,” because it’s a wee bit smaller than a GR Yaris. 

You see, as cool as the GR Yaris is from the factory, that’s also the problem with it if you’re, say, a group of students at an automotive college who are looking for a project. The GR Yaris is for driving, not for hefty modification. I mean, where’s the challenge? Instead, a group of Saitama Institute of Automotive Technology students decided to get elbow-deep in the guts of a tiny little Toyota iQ—made over to look like a tiny GR Yaris. 

Wide fenders? Check. Carbon fiber hood? Check. 1.3-liter, 98 horsepower-producing, 123 newton-meter (or 90.7 pound-feet) of torque-having inline four-cylinder engine? Nope. Not even close. In fact, in stock trim, the original iQ was a front-wheel drive unit. The Yaris Jr, though, is rear-wheel drive all the way—and it’s powered by nothing less than the 1,440cc inline four-cylinder mill found in a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R, which makes around 197 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque.  

全国のヤリスJrファンの皆様お待たせいたしました😎
補強中ではありますがエンジン始動動画です!!#埼玉自動車大学校 #埼自大 #SAIJIDAI #ネッツトヨタ東埼玉 #ネッツトヨタ埼玉 #IQ #GRYaris #ヤリス #バイク王 #BRIDE #BLITZ #WORK #Sparco #ガレージベリー pic.twitter.com/u6eweZHzZ4

— 埼玉自動車大学校（公式） (@saijidai) February 15, 2022

Beyond being what must have been a spectacularly fun project for students at the technical college to build for class credit, Saitama also brought it to the Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 in January. It even won the grand prize on TV Tokyo’s Super GT Plus. The college hasn’t published details about power-to-weight ratios, power in general, top speed, zero-to-60 times (or zero-to-100 kilometer times), or any other technical information so far.  

For now, we’ll have to be content with the startup video the school posted on its Twitter on February 15, 2022, and wondering what on earth this thing would be like to drive. Oh, and especially appreciating the box wrench shift knob. Just, uh, don’t park in the sun and expect to drive away without wearing gloves.

Gallery: Toyota Yaris Jr. by Saitama Institute of Automotive Technology