The car was debuted at the 1997 Rally Finland, and replaced the Toyota Celica Turbo ST205.

The Toyota Corolla WRC (World Rally Car) is special purpose rally car based on the European Corolla 3 door Hatchback (E110), and powered by a modified 3S-GTE engine with water-cooled turbo system producing 223 kW (299 hp) and 4WD system copied from the Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205.

[2] It was launched in July 1997, and made its debut at the 1997 Rally Finland with Didier Auriol and Marcus Grönholm behind the wheel.

[3] For 1998 WRC season, double World Rally Champions Carlos Sainz and Luis Moya joined the Toyota Team Europe, and won the 1998 Monte Carlo Rally.

[4] Didier Auriol won the 1999 China Rally, and Toyota won the 1999 manufacturer's title while the company stopped participating in rallying, in order to prepare for a switch to Formula One in 2002.