Toyota is filling out its sports car portfolio with another generation of the 86 sports car, now renamed GR86.
A new powerplant is the headline news. After years of pleading from the public, Toyota and Subaru are finally giving the GR86 a turbocharger. Subaru’s 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer four-cylinder is the obvious candidate, retuned from SUV duty where it makes 260 hp and 277 lb-ft in the Subaru Ascent. Even if the power figures don’t change with the tune, it would still make 55 hp and 122 lb-ft more than the current GT86 and BRZ. Although it hasn’t been confirmed yet, we expect both to offer a manual gearbox as well as an automatic.
The name change reflects the larger overall strategy. The 86 remains the entry point, the new turbocharged four-cylinder GR Supra 2.0 occupies the middle of the ladder, and the turbocharged I-6 GR Supra 3.0 is the top rung. To reinforce the family connection, the 86 gets its third name change—from Scion FR-S to Toyota 86 and now to GR86. GR stands for Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s in-house racing and performance department. The Subaru BRZ is expected to retain its name.
The GR86 and BRZ are expected to ride on a new platform provided by Toyota, possibly a shrunken version of the TNGA-N rear-drive platform to keep costs down. Before the industry slowed to a crawl, the GR86 was expected to premiere in the summer of 2021. When it finally does, we expect a starting price of about $30,000.
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