Japanese tuner completely redesigns Toyota GR Corolla engine

The famous tuning specialists of HKS (Japan) have devised a number of improvements for the G16E-GTS engine powering the latest Toyota GR Corolla. Apparently, the mill can produce up to 250% of its original power without too-expensive mods.

In its stock form, the 1.6-liter, three-cylinder turbo engine churns out a healthy 300 PS (296 hp / 221 kW), which isn’t so bad on its own. With the tune applied, however, it skyrockets to 750 PS (740 hp / 552 kW) and can possibly go higher.

HKS achieves this by increasing the displacement volume (specifics unknown), hooking up an additional ECU, and replacing a number of intake, exhaust, fuel system and cooling components. To minimize turbo lag, the piston stroke has been extended and the compression ratio slightly lowered.

According to the tuner, Maserati’s cutting-edge Nettuno V6 engine was a major source of inspiration for the project. It uses a number of tricks to maximize the combustion efficiency at every step, including pre-chamber combustion, improved thermal regulation, rounded valves and guides, and phosphorus-bronze coated spark plugs.

The project is still at a prototype stage, but HKS plans to eventually start selling these engines in crate form. Right now, the goal is to find out what the peak power, torque and throttle response numbers are and how viable the tune is in the long run.