The last time Toyota ran a factory effort in FIA World Rally Championship competition, it was 1999, and they won. Evidently, they decided that an 18-year hiatus would be long enough.

The automaker returns to the WRC in 2017 with a works effort and a new car: the Toyoya Yaris WRC. Toyota Motorsport GmbH is actively developing the car and its new engine, a 1.6-liter, direct-injected turbo four dubbed the "Global Race Engine."

Here's video of the prototype rally Yaris being flung around during testing in Japan on January 22:

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Stéphane Sarrazin, Sebastian Lindholm, and Eric Camilli are the factory test drivers this year. The actual competition driver lineup is still TBA.

Toyota has three WRC constructor's championships in its trophy case—1993,1994, and 1999. By the looks of things, they're serious about adding another.

It won't be easy, but it'll be fun to watch.

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