The GR 86 is the successor to Toyota's legendary GT86 sports car
David Romeo
This light, skinny-tired sports car offers hope to those who
enjoy driving.
The new Toyota GR 86 is a sweet Easter Egg from Toyota. GR 86, to be precise. GT86 is not one of them.
That isn't a typo caused by a boozy bank holiday. The new 86 joins Toyota's other Gazoo Racing (GR) brethren, jumping on the back of the performance-oriented conga line behind the GR Supra and GR Yaris, thanks to a single keyboard critical slip and a smash of the space bar.
However, this latest 86 is almost identical to the excellent driver-focused, rear-wheel-drive, skinny-tired, and highly entertaining GT86 JDM sports car we named Top Gear's Car of the Year in 2012. It was done in partnership with Subaru once again, and it uses the same frame and engine as the current BRZ. However, we won't buy the BRZ in Europe this time, so it'll be the GR 86 or nothing for us.
Instead of the old 2.0-liter engine, the titchy 2+2 now has a larger 2.4-liter naturally-aspirated flat-four 'boxer' machine. The GR 86, on the other hand, defies the pattern of cars getting more prominent as time goes on. It has the exact dimensions as the GT86 (4,265mm long, 1,310mm high, and a 2575mm wheelbase) and weighs 1,270kg, 50kg more than the original. However, a new aluminum roof and body panels have been added to keep the bloat at bay.
It's also 50 percent stiffer in the unsafe areas, thanks to an upgraded frame, increased panel strengthening, and even stronger bonding techniques to enhance the body shell's stiffness. This could result in even better handling, which has always been a strength of the GT86.
Since you won't have any forced induction, like the old engine, you'll have to rev the hell out of it to get any efficiency. However, power has increased to 232bhp and 184lb-ft (up from 197bhp and 151lb-ft in the previous car), good enough for a 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds (1.1 seconds faster than its predecessor), but peak power is served all the way around at 7,000rpm. This is fantastic.
A six-speed manual or optional automatic gearbox will distribute the power to the rear wheels, which a limited-slip differential will then separate. This will aid handling (MacPherson struts are used for the front suspension, with double wishbones at the rear) and any-speed engagement, which the old car excelled at. The latest GR 86, however, is sporting stickier, more sporting Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, as shown by a trusty optical microscope. As a result, pulling the back out could be a little more complex than with the old car's eco Prius tires.
As you can see, the styling has been softened, and the car is almost similar to the BRZ. There's a lot more curvaceous and feline face upfront, with headlights and daytime running lights that are shaped and smoothed out like the original Jaguar F-Type. There's nothing wrong with that.
Larger front intakes are also present, presumably as a result of Toyota's motorsport operations. The GT86's sculpted roof remains taught and sporty, while the updated rear lights are more angular and have a Honda NSX vibe to them. Again, nothing to be concerned about. There's also a black plastic faux diffuser on either end that houses two exhausts.
Within, it's the polar opposite of modern cockpits' big displays and haptic controls. Once again, it's all about the driver in this one. It has a layout and style that is very similar to the previous generation. The basic steering wheel has more buttons strewn around it, but there's a new digital central binnacle with all the data you'll need (analog rev counter would have been nice) and a slightly larger seven-inch central monitor.
Unfortunately, the GR 86's launch date in the United Kingdom and Europe has yet to be verified. Sales in Japan will begin in the autumn, so it should be available in the UK by the rest of the year or early in 2022 for about £30,000.
However, the fact that this car is being built is a small miracle in and of itself, for which we should be grateful. A rear-wheel-drive, stick-shift, naturally aspirated sports car (that only sold 7,500 units in the UK over the better part of nine years on sale) is proving difficult to sell due to upcoming legislation as well social, political, and environmental pressures on automakers. But it also demonstrates that, like us, Akio Toyoda adores driving. As a result, we applaud Toyota for continuing to create vehicles for people who see cars as more than just a mode of moving from point A to point B. Given how quickly things are moving in the EV world, this car could taste even sweeter by the end of the year.