The Toyota GT 86

Price Range: $35,000/  £25000

Just when we all thought Toyota had finally called it quits with sports cars ending with the Supra, they came up with this……………………

THE Toyota GT-86.

The Toyota GT 86 is one car that “as Top Gears Jeremy Clarkson puts it” has indeed steered the hearts and the “trousers” of every petrol head in the world.

The GT-86 was Toyota’s way of telling the world that they’ve still got it in em when it comes to producing magnificent sports cars.

It was Toyota’s aim to design a sports car that not only looked fantastic but was very affordable as well. With its breath-taking looks and pragmatic stance, one would be astonished to learn that the GT-86 can be owned for less than $35,000. That’s Avalon money for God’s sake.

 

I should at this point note that the GT-86 which was designed in conjunction with Subaru does feature a lot of un-Toyota like details such as it’s 2x2 sitting, it’s 2.0 litre flat four boxer engine and its propeller shafted rear-wheel drive system.

Design.

Designed with the concept of form following function, the GT 86 combines the technical constraints of the most compact dimensions possible, a low centre of gravity and excellent, F1 technology-inspired aerodynamic performance with evocative, sweeping styling recalling the heritage of past Toyota sports cars.

With many of its design cues taken from the Toyota FT-HS concept, it is very obvious that the GT-86 wasn’t designed to be all bold and aggressive, but with its gallant grille design,  purpose built 17" alloy wheels, rear spoiler and twin 86mm rear exhausts, this Toyota isn’t all cool and courteous either. Even the lowered nose and T-mesh grille design gives the GT-86 a more assertive, no-nonsense look.

On the interior though, I’d have to say, not everything looks so quite enterprising. With all honesty, the interior of the GT-86 looks like a Toyota Corolla save for some minor details, “especially if you’re buying the US spec”

Performance.

A typical boxer engine

The GT-86 uses a flat four boxer unit which has its pistons mounted horizontally on 2 opposite sides. This design means the engine can be mounted lower into the car’s frame which means a low centre of gravity. And because it’s a boxer unit, the engine allows for very high revving with maximum torque arriving at 6600rpm and maximum power at 7000rpm.

The Toyota GT-86 engine

 The 2.0 litre 4 cylinder engine designed by Toyota and Subaru produces 200hp  and  205Nm of torque. This power can take the car from 0-60mph (97km/h) in 7secs and onwards to a top speed of 137mph (220km/h).

The GT 86s naturally-aspirated petrol engine is the result of a joint development between Subaru and Toyota, bringing together their technical know-how and mutual passion for sports cars.

To Subarus newly developed, horizontally opposed, 1,998cc, four-cylinder boxer engine, Toyota has added its D-4S technology. With separate twin injectors for both direct and port injection, and a high compression ratio of 12.5:1, D-4S increases power and torque over a wide range of engine speeds without sacrificing fuel efficiency and environmental performance.

The flat-four engine may be mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. The manual transmission offers quick, precise shifting via the highly engaging action of a tactile, short-throw lever, whilst the automatic transmission is controlled by sporting, steering wheel-mounted paddle shifts.

Power is distributed to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential, optimising traction and grip under all driving conditions. And the GT 86s ABS and switchable VSC safety systems have been specifically tuned to combine dynamic stability at the limit of the vehicles performance envelope with minimal electronic intrusion on the purity of the driving experience.

Driving Experience.

Now Toyota understood that to make a great sports car, it needn’t have all the power and prestige like them Lamborghini’s and Pagani’s; all you need is to make sure the driver has all the fun in the world driving the car and cest fini. And to make sure this happens; they made the GT-86 purely a rear wheel drive car so that you can drift/oversteer it however you please, whenever you please, wherever you please. *Big plus to them for that*

And to make sure that the GT-86 is as tail-happy as possible, they softened the suspension and used the exact same skinny little low resistance tires that they used on the new Toyota Prius.

As a result of all this, you can even drift this car at low speeds like 40km/h which is well within the speed limit and even at high frightening speeds, if one desires, entertaining and controlled drifting can still be enjoyed. “If only those guys at Tokyo drift had this”.

Obviously, the GT-86 wasn’t designed to set lap-records or win drag races either, but what the car does is to put a big smile on  the face of every motoring enthusiast in the world.

Now thats a happy face

In summary, the GT-86 is an exceptional car. Personally I love it. Yeah I did say the interior was a bit bland but that was because I forgot something very important; the driver would be too busy doing writing the figure 8 in tyre dust to look at the interior lol. 

At this point, i should note that the Toyota GT-86 shares similar signatures with the Subaru BR-Z and the Scion FR-S. The general acceptance of these three vehicles have been remarkable.

And below is a list “from Wikipedia” of all the awards that  the 86 has won.

• The GT86 has won the Best Coupe Car from the Scottish Car of the Year 2012 held at Glasgow on 14 October 2012.

• The Toyota 86 has been judged the 2012 Car of the Year in Australia at the annual Drive awards. The 86 was also named Best Performance Car under A$60,000 and won the Peoples Choice vote.^[103]

• In South Africa the 86 has been nominated in the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) Car Of The Year 2013 (together with the Toyota Yaris 1.5 HSD Xs and 2012 Lexus GS 350 EX; making Toyota the only manufacturer with multiple nominations.^[104]

• US News declared the Scion FR-S as the best affordable sports car for the 2012.^[105]

• In November 2012 the GT86 won the Auto Express performance car award.^[106]

• In December 2012, the GT86 was named the Top Gear magazine "Car of the Year 2012" and "The Coupe of the Year 2012" with the BRZ.^[107]

• The Toyota 86 was crowned New Zealand Car of the Year 2012.^[108]

• The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ were jointly named as the 2012 Carsguide Car of the Year.^[109]

• The Subaru BRZ won third place in Motor Trends Best Drivers Car 2012^[110]

• The Scion FRS was a contender in Motor Trends Car of the Year 2013 and the Subaru BRZ was the runner up^[111]

• Autocar named the Toyota GT86 as Britains best drivers car of 2012^[112]

• Car and Driver named the Subaru BRZ/ Scion FRS as one of the 10 best cars of 2013^[113]

• The Subaru BRZ earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick of 2012^[114]

• The Subaru BRZ was a finalist in Autoweeks Best of the Best 2013^[115]

The GT86 and Subaru BRZ won Carsales Australia networks Peoples Choice Best Performance Car Under A$100,000^[116]

• The Subaru BRZ won Best Sports Car of 2013, from the Canadian Autos.ca website^[116]

• The Subaru BRZ/ Toyota GT86 Boxer engine won 2013 Wards 10 "Best Engines"^[117]

 Thats an awful lot right!!!!

I should also note that Toyota plans on building a convertible version. If they do, that would be like the coolest thing ever and a most have fashion item amongst all. 

Here;s Top Gears Jeremy Clarksons view on the Toyota 86. Enjoy!

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