The coupe’s launch is set to create a new “Power of Three” trio of global models developed with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, benefiting from the same motorsports-inspired engineering and design prowess as the critically acclaimed GR Supra and GR Yaris.
GR 86’s appearance at the Festival of Speed, to be held in the grounds of Goodwood House in West Sussex from 8 to 11 July, is an early public preview prior to the car going on sale in the UK during 2022. Running in the festival’s “First Glimpse” showcase for upcoming exciting and exclusive road cars, it will demonstrate its handling and agility on Goodwood’s famous hill course, in the hands of an expert driver. Festival go-ers will be able to see the car driven on the famous Goodwood Hill and get up close to it in the First Glance Paddock.
First revealed in an online presentation in April this year, GR 86 develops the qualities that made GT86 a multi-award-winning success as a car that delivered the purest joys of driving.
The new car will maintain the core characteristics of its predecessor; a fun, accessible and easy to drive sports coupe which rewards driver input.
It retains a classic front engine, rear-wheel drive configuration, but adopts a new and more powerful 2.4-litre horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine. Its dimensions are almost identical to its predecessor, but a 50 per cent increase in torsional rigidity helps achieve sharper handling and steering, while a focus on weight-saving, including using aluminium for the roof and body panels, should make it the lightest four-seat coupe in its class (provisional kerb weight is 1,270kg).
Details derived directly from TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s motorsports activities include precisely designed aero parts, such as the front air ducts and rocker panels. The suspension features front MacPherson struts and rear double wishbones and the car rides on 18-inch wheels fitted with 215/40R18 tyres. The new model has been jointly developed by Toyota Motor Corporation and Subaru Corporation, following a new business and capital alliance between the two companies, agreed in September 2019.
GR 86 follows the example of the Toyota GR Supra in making its world dynamic debut at the Festival of Speed, the two-seat coupe having been presented on-track at Goodwood in 2018. The Toyota GT86 also made an early appearance at Goodwood as one of the star newcomers at the 2012 festival, ahead of its market launch later that year. GT86 went on to amass around 200,000 worldwide sales and featured in many different forms of motorsport, including GT racing, rallying and one-make series.
Toyota will announce details of further activities at the 2021 Festival of Speed in the coming weeks, and more details about the GR 86 will be unveiled nearer its launch.
