Spark Model's 1:43 scale model captures one of the most significant results of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship: Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin taking overall victory at Rally Japan, the season's thirteenth and final round, held 16–19 November 2023 in the Aichi and Gifu regions of Japan. The No. 33 GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid is a historically loaded subject for any WRC collection.
The GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid: a New Technical Era
Introduced at the start of the 2022 WRC season, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 replaced the Yaris WRC that had run from 2017 to 2021. Built to FIA Rally1 regulations, it incorporates a mandatory 100 kW hybrid unit supplied by Compact Dynamics, bolted alongside a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine. The hybrid system supplements drive rather than replacing it, and all manufacturers on the Rally1 grid use the same Compact Dynamics unit, placing an equal floor under the electrical architecture.
Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin and the Aichi Sweep
Rally Japan holds singular importance for Toyota: the Aichi region is the company's corporate heartland, and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT delivered a 1-2-3 finish there in 2023. For Evans, the victory was his second WRC rally win of that season — Rally Sweden and Rally Japan 2023. Welsh-born Evans is among a rare group of British Isles drivers to win WRC rallies at the top level, and the No. 33 has been his regular competition number throughout the hybrid era.
Spark Model in 1:43: Resin, Photo-Etch, Race Accuracy
Spark Model renders the No. 33 car in resin with photo-etched and metal detail parts, the standard construction approach the French manufacturer applies to its 1:43 WRC range. The livery follows the 2023 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT specification: predominantly white bodywork with red and black Toyota/GR branding and sponsor graphics including Castrol, Michelin and OMP. The competition number 33 and Evans/Martin crew identification are faithfully reproduced, making this a precise record of the car as it appeared on the Aichi special stages in November 2023.
In the Display Cabinet
This 1:43 resin model sits naturally alongside the rest of the 2023 WRC Spark season set — including the podium-finishing No. 69 Toyota of Ogier and Landais from the same event. Collectors building a Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT sequence can run it beside earlier Spark and IXO releases covering the 2017–2021 Yaris WRC generation, tracing the team's continuous WRC presence. It also pairs well with the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 entries that contested the 2023 Drivers' and Manufacturers' titles alongside Toyota throughout the season.
