Rally Sweden 2022 ran from 24 to 27 February in the Umeå region — a truncated event where insufficient snow forced organisers to reduce the route significantly. Despite those unusual conditions, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT fielded three GR Yaris Rally1 entries in what was only the second round of the championship's new hybrid era. Car No. 4, in the hands of Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm, crossed the finish line third overall.
Toyota's First Hybrid WRC Weapon
The GR Yaris Rally1 is Toyota's first purpose-built hybrid WRC car, introduced for the 2022 season under the FIA's Rally1 regulations. Every car on the grid was required to integrate a standardised 100 kW electric motor unit supplied by Compact Dynamics, paired with a manufacturer-developed 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine. The result is a combined output that places the GR Yaris Rally1 among the most technically complex machinery ever fielded in the World Rally Championship.
Lappi's Return to the Podium
Esapekka Lappi was brought into the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT line-up as a third works driver for selected rounds in 2022, alongside Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans. At Rally Sweden, running car No. 4, Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm delivered a controlled performance on the shortened snow stages to finish third overall, behind Sébastien Ogier in the #1 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 and Elfyn Evans in the #33 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. It was a significant personal milestone, marking Lappi's return to WRC podium contention as a factory driver. The peculiar nature of Rally Sweden 2022 — with its rerouted stages and reduced mileage — makes this specific event one of the more distinctive entries in recent WRC history.
The 1:43 Scale Model by Spark Model
This resin 1:43 scale model is produced by Spark Model and replicates the #4 Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 exactly as it appeared at Rally Sweden 2022. Spark Model is a specialist producer of small-scale motorsport replicas, known for accurate livery reproduction and metal base plates on their 1:43 rally range. The white-and-red Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT livery is rendered with the Yaris GR branding as carried during the February event, making this a faithful record of the car's competition appearance.
Placing It in the Collection
This model sits naturally alongside the other Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT entries from Rally Sweden 2022 — the #1 car of Ogier and Veillas and the #33 of Evans and Martin — to form a complete Toyota works trio from that round. Beyond the team set, it pairs well with the broader 2022 WRC hybrid-era grid, including the Ford Puma Rally1 and Hyundai i20 N Rally1 from the same event. Collectors building a chronological Lappi retrospective will also find it a distinct counterpart to his earlier Toyota Yaris WRC entries from the 2017–2021 generation.
