My dad had an '09 (I think) base model Yaris with the 5-speed before upgrading to a Miata. He drove it well over 100,000 miles and loved every second of it.
If I remember correctly, there were even a handful of TRD goodies you could buy for it.
Photography Credit: Guess Work Photography/SCCA Appalachian HillClimb Series
Taylor Shead drove his 2008 Toyota Yaris nearly 1000 miles one way, from Texas to North Carolina, to compete with it in the Dragon HillClimb. Taylor wanted to hillclimb, and wanted to badly.
“It makes for a hillclimb car as much as it needs to, because it gets me there competing,” Taylor candidly says. “If I didn’t have the Yaris, I wouldn’t be able to compete.”
Taylor didn’t intend to hillclimb the Yaris this season. In previous years, Taylor often won his class with a 2002 Toyota MR2. He wanted to swap in a more powerful engine, a 2AR-FE, for that car to compete in this year’s SCCA Appalachian HillClimb Series season.
For the first hillclimb in April, Taylor had just installed the new engine days before. As he idled it for the first time, the engine failed. Taylor had forgot to put oil in. The Yaris got the call.
For the second hillclimb in June, during the next dash to get ready, some debris got in between the cylinder head and the engine block, denting the deck and marring the mating surface for the head gasket. The Yaris got the call again.
For the third and final hillclimb in July, Taylor upgraded the 2AR-FE further with some high compression pistons. Unfortunately, he didn’t figure in the cam lift he had, which was not compatible with the pistons. Yes, the Yaris got the call once more.
Admittedly, Taylor didn’t buy the Yaris with hillclimbs in mind. Far from it.
Photo by Guess Work Photography/SCCA Appalachian HillClimb Series.
“I realized that at a certain point the MR2 is going to be modified — that was my only car,” Taylor says. “So, I got a second car that would be my daily driver. I was like, ‘What’s boring? What can’t I have fun in?’ It’s a Yaris. No one is going to go race a Yaris. After I got it, I realized I was wrong.”
When Taylor was looking for a replacement suspension for the Yaris, he found Bilstein upgraded coil-overs. Then Taylor discovered a half cage available, which is required for hillclimbing. He came to the conclusion he had found a backup car for his favorite form of motorsport. Little did he know he would actually run it.
“Going fast as fast as you can in that car is rewarding because of what car it is,” says Taylor. “It doesn’t make power, It’s open diff. It’s old. It’s an economy car. Getting close to my MR2’s times from that first year is rewarding.”
Taylor trailered the car to the first two hillclimbs, but decided to drive it to the most recent one because it saved on gas. The Yaris fits everything he needs in the back and cruises along the highway.
“Normal cars can be race cars,” Taylor says. “You can race what you have most of the time–you just have to do it. Where there is a will, there is a way.”
The Yaris fit everything Taylor Shead needed to hillclimb with. Photo by Taylor Shead.
2024 Dragon HillClimb XVIII
SCCA Appalachian HillClimb Series
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Robbinsville, North Carolina
July 27-28, 2024
Class Winners
Special Open: Justin Reed, Anderson, S.C., 2016 DF Kit Car Goblin, 1:44.358
Outlaw: Cody Puckett, Gainesville, Ga., 1970 Chevrolet Camaro, 1:48.873
Sport Unlimited: Lawrence Shue, Winston-Salem, N.C., 2003 BMW M3, 1:55.890
Classic Stock Car: Tom Plaza, Arlington Heights, Ill., 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass, 1:57.151
Street Modified: Heyward Wagner, Weaverville, N.C., 2005 Mazda RX-8, 1:57.236
Modified: Dillon Broyles, Roswell, Ga., 2006 Mazda MX-5, 2:00.813
Sport Max: Seth Rogers, Concord, N.C., 2009 Mini Cooper S, 2:02.034
Super Sport: Aaron Elsner, Bethania, N.C., 2001 Porsche 911 Carrera, 2:03.247
Sport: Michael Snowden, Lexington, Ky., 1997 Mazda Miata, 2:08.299
Special Limited: Ted Visscher, Powell, Tenn., 2008 Red Devil T-82, 2:12.066
Full Results here
Special Awards
Ice Cream Cup presented by Nine Lives Racing (fastest street-legal car): Cody Puckett, Gainesville, Ga., 1970 Chevrolet Camaro, 1:48.873
Queen of the Hill presented by Haltech: Ryan Cheek, Black Mountain, N.C., 2021 American X Kart
King of the Hill presented by Haltech: Justin Reed, Anderson, S.C., 2016 DF Kit Car Goblin
My dad had an '09 (I think) base model Yaris with the 5-speed before upgrading to a Miata. He drove it well over 100,000 miles and loved every second of it.
If I remember correctly, there were even a handful of TRD goodies you could buy for it.
With factory performance parts or aftermarket performance parts available, it makes sense to build a little car like that. Truthfully, I didn't even think that the Yaris had ANY aftermarket parts available, but surprise surprise! This gets me thinking....$$$
Just jumped on CL and it seems like the half dozen cars out there have automatic transmissions and four doors. I'm not familiar with the Yaris at all, but I hope a 5-speed 2-door car isn't a unicorn.
I'm pleasantly surprised this isn't the GR Yaris or something else under a Yaris body.
Yes please! I love it.
I just remembered that these commercials were a thing:
Haha, I never saw those ads. Thanks for sharing.
Colin Wood said:My dad had an '09 (I think) base model Yaris with the 5-speed before upgrading to a Miata. He drove it well over 100,000 miles and loved every second of it.
If I remember correctly, there were even a handful of TRD goodies you could buy for it.
My 2010 Yaris had TRD lowering springs and the TRD rear sway bar. There were also TRD struts, a TRD muffler, a TRD drop-in air filter, and a TRD shifter.
I loved my 2010 3-door hatch, I drove that thing over 10 different states, about 40k miles, did a track day in it, autocrossed it a few times, and it never let me down.
Love this. These cars are deceptively fun to drive. Kudos to him. And I feel his pain on the MR2 woes.
Who says you need the latest, greatest and fastest car to have fun? Taylor seemed to have a blast with his Yaris.
This is the true "grassroots" of motorsports. Run what ya brung.
Who says you need at least 300hp before you can have fun?
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