Toyota has unveiled the car that will mark its return to the World Rally Championship after a 17-year absence: the Yaris WRC.

Developed by a team led by four-times world champion Tommi Makinen, the Yaris joins the sport at the same time as new rules designed to make world rallying more spectacular. As a result, it’s the most extreme-looking Yaris you’re ever likely to see, with a huge rear wing and considerable wheelarch extensions - plus aggressive aerodynamic vanes built into the rear bumper.

• New Toyota Yaris hot hatch on the way

The car will be run under the Gazoo Racing banner - a performance sub-division of Toyota that the firm is trying to turn into a global brand. Shigeki Tomoyama, Gazoo’s deputy chief officer and marketing director, told Auto Express, “It is early days but the plan is to combine some motorsports activities under the Gazoo Racing banner.” He declined to comment on speculation that Toyota will introduce a performance Yaris to support its WRC campaign, but just hours later Toyota GB confirmed the hot Yaris road car with an official teaser image on its blog.

The Yaris WRC’s engine is a 1.6-litre turbocharged unit producing around 380bhp. Toyota announced at the car’s reveal that it will be driven by former VW star Jari-Matti Latvala, who came onto the job market when the German brand announced its withdrawal from the sport a few weeks ago. Latvala will be joined in the line-up by another two Finns - Juho Hanninen and, on selected events, promising young star Esapekka Lappi.