The 2022 WRC Rally1 regulations brought a new technical era to the World Rally Championship, and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT has been at the centre of it since the opening round. Car #37 at Rally Finland 2024 placed Yuki Yamamoto — a driver from Toyota's own development pipeline — behind the wheel of the hybrid GR Yaris on one of the most demanding and historically significant venues the championship visits. IXO Models documents that entry in die-cast metal at 1:18.
The GR Yaris Rally1: Toyota's First Electrified WRC Weapon
Introduced for the 2022 season under the Rally1 regulations, the GR Yaris Rally1 is built around a carbon-fibre roll cage and pairs a 1.6-litre turbocharged inline-three petrol engine with a mandatory 100 kW Compact Dynamics hybrid unit, a system shared across all Rally1 manufacturers. The combined output reaches approximately 500 hp. The car replaced the non-hybrid Yaris WRC and marked the first time a Toyota factory WRC entry ran with electrification. The platform traces its roots to the GR Yaris road car, though the competition version diverges substantially in structure and regulation-mandated componentry.
WRC Round 11, Jyväskylä: Yamamoto on Development Duty
Rally Finland 2024 ran from 1 to 4 August around Jyväskylä, on the fast gravel roads that have made the event one of the most celebrated fixtures on the WRC calendar. Car #37 was a non-seeded entry slot within the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT structure, assigned to Yuki Yamamoto, a Japanese driver progressing through Toyota's factory development pathway, with Finnish co-driver Marko Salminen alongside him. Salminen has worked with several Toyota-affiliated drivers across WRC and national-level events, bringing local route knowledge to the pairing. The car ran in the standard 2024 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT white, red and black livery.
IXO Models and the 1:18 WRC Die-Cast Series
This 1:18 scale model is produced by IXO Models as part of their RMC (Rally Model Car) 1:18 die-cast series, a range dedicated to WRC subjects. Die-cast metal construction is used throughout the body and chassis. IXO's approach in this series allows them to cover development-driver entries and non-championship slots that larger-run producers rarely address, meaning car #37 would be an atypical subject elsewhere. The white, red and black Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT livery, car number 37, and the Rally Finland 2024 specification are all captured in the model's finish.
In the Display Cabinet: Placing the Development Driver Entry
Within a WRC collection, this 1:18 model sits naturally alongside other 2024-season GR Yaris Rally1 entries — the #1 of Sébastien Ogier and the #69 of Kalle Rovanperä provide the championship-contender context. For collectors focused on Japanese rally talent or on Toyota's driver development structure, car #37 carries distinct documentary value. The Rally Finland setting also connects it thematically to pre-Rally1 GR Yaris WRC editions of the same event, allowing a generational display spanning the hybrid transition from 2022 onward.
