Toyota GR's Direct Automatic Transmission Will Be A Revolutionary Breakthrough

In 2022, something exciting happened in rally racing: the GR Yaris, known for its manual transmission, surprised everyone by showing off an automatic version at the Toyota Gazoo Rally Racing Challenge in Japan. Toyota was so thrilled by this that it decided to speed up its development.

In September, during an event in the Super Taikyu series, we got to see the automatic GR Yaris in action. Even though you can't buy it yet, Toyota's chairman, Akio Toyoda, is assuring us it's going to be worth the wait.

In a lively chat with Toyota Times magazine, Toyoda couldn't stop praising the upcoming automatic version, officially called the Direct Automatic Transmission, or DAT. He thinks it could revolutionize how we see automatic transmissions. But he did say that despite its promise, there are still some challenges to tackle, hinting that it might take a bit longer to hit the roads.

Toyoda is genuinely excited about bringing DAT to the world and making it available to more people. He believes that those who are used to automatic transmissions will love getting into the world of motorsports with this innovation, enjoying the sounds and the thrill of shifting gears. He even had a playful moment, mentioning that DAT could also stand for "Dat's Akio Toyoda!"

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For Toyoda, the best part about DAT is that you won't lose any time shifting gears. As someone who's been on the track with a manual GR Yaris, he's excited that with DAT, you can focus solely on accelerating, braking, and steering without worrying about shifting gears. We're not sure yet if Toyota will offer DAT in other GR models.