Toyota G16E-GTS

Toyota's 1.6 turbocharged three-cylinder — the G16E-GTS — in the GR Yaris and GR Corolla.

⚑ It is the most powerful three-cylinder ever put in a production car, at around 200 horsepower per litre, and that figure is the whole context for everything else about it. This is a homologation engine, built for a rally programme rather than derived from an economy car.

Its construction reflects that: a closed-deck block, port-and-direct injection together, sodium-filled exhaust valves, and a large single turbocharger. Nothing about Toyota's other three-cylinders transfers, and the 1KR and M15A pages here describe engines with almost nothing in common with it.

A three-cylinder at this output is inherently unbalanced and hot. Oil grade, level and interval are not routine advice here — they are what protects the turbocharger and the bearings on an engine with very little margin.

Intake-valve carbon is mitigated by the port injectors rather than absent, which is one of the few places this engine is easier than its peers.

It is too new for a settled long-term record, and cars that have been tracked are a different population from cars that have not.