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With cars becoming more and more like spacious and above all heavy safety buildings, driving fun is hard to find these days. Even cars like the VW Golf GTi are hampered by these developments and pure driving fun is far away. Until now... with a reference to the cult AE86 Toyota introduced the GT86, a joint venture with Subaru and that's why it also carries a flat 4 engine. The car is also available as Subaru BRZ.

Some vital statistics: RWD, 2 litre atmospheric engine, available with auto box or six speed manual developing 200 BHP and 205 Nm (151 ft lb) doing 0-100 kmh in 7.6 seconds and weighing 1205 kos.

With cars becoming heavier and heavier (screaming excess pollution in the meantime I'd say), 7.6 seconds to 100 kmh (60 mph) is already pretty quick for a modern car, but of course neither this nor 200 BHP makes it a Ferrari when it comes to performance. But a pure, basic and relatively light car with 200 horses will definitely make it a joy to drive and develop more power than the average daily. Rear wheel drive, how rare these days, will definitely make the car with the short rear a challenging and back to basics drive with great potential. To me, it potentially is the most fun car to be introduced to the market for the past 5 years, I can't wait to test drive it!

I really like the 86! I've always loved the old Hachiroku (AE85/86), so I was super stoked to hear this was coming. I think the design worked out really well, although I'd immediately make the taillights red if I bought one.
From what I've heard so far Toyota really seems to have hit the nail on the head with this one, I hear it's a proper drivers car, focusing more on the whole experience than power or lap times. Reminds me of the E21/E30 actually.
I hope a lot of car companys (mainly Nissan but also possibly Renault with Alpine and such) will be inspired by this to make similar cars too, not those heavy new-age supercars which are just about the numbers.
FR, Manual, 4- or 6-cilinder, 200-300 bhp, very low weight, I think that's about the perfect car for normal road use.
Seeing as my dad drives a Toyota and is a regular at the local dealer, I really hope we can get one for a testdrive sometime soon!

BTW, the automatic gearbox is derived from the Lexus IS-F box, which I heard is (for an automatic) a great g'box.
I'd order a manual one without a single moment of doubt though, this is the exact kind of car that NEEDS a manual, because you need to drive it yourself.

looks and sounds like a great car

the base numbers are v similar to the E30 325

In Print Again!

I see the current edition (ie last week's) Autocar printed my letter re the above likening the New Toyota to the original E21 and E30- and MB the editor agreed with what I said
Buy it while you can?

will post once out of print

Please do, nice!

I do like these and the fact the manual ones are about 8K cheaper here than the UK New I am tempted


Jason

Not surprised anyone is tempted- great cars
Got in one the other day- was offered a drive which will have to wiat!
was a bit surprised how wide the bucket seats were- I would be slithering about- the Alpina Recaros are much narrower to fit snake hips like me!

anyway I promised my letter in last week's Autocar once superseded hopefully it is here:

I really like this car too and I'm not sure if Toyota run the same advert in the rest of Europe, but it's very clever. They should create a series of them A little bit more power would have been fantastic, but great car nonetheless.

Nice article is in the making for a Dutch magazine, comparing the hottest hatches of the moment imho, the GT86 and M135i. Let me give you my verdict.

The GT86 is a sports car according to classic conceptions. Relatively light, naturally aspirated, requires revving and oversteer is easy to provoke. Perhaps it's best compared with BMW's E30. Easy performer even though it needs some experienced hands to go fast well, definitely not smooth, it's a car with character. A true modern day classic sports car.

The M135i is in a league of its own. The example on test, with X-Drive and the 8 speed auto box it is far from a raw sports car, virtually anyone can go fast in one of these. And if you go fast, you go real fast. Throttle response is amazing at any given speed or rev count, it just goes off and keeps on going off. With tons of grip and a PDK like gearbox you can hardly go wrong and then it's easy to give the GT86 a good beating.

But it is like comparing the E30 with the E36. Coming from an E30, things are just too easy in an E36, and too smooth. The E30 requires the driver to work, and then rewards the experienced driver with more driving fun and feedback than you'll get from the E36. The M135i is terribly fast, has a formidable exhaust note and it's a very well built car. A true BMW in many aspects.

But concluding like that would do the GT86 injustice. The BMW is a true BMW, but not a true sportscar in my opinion. The BMW may be faster, with a good driver the GT86 is definitely not slow or completely left behind, far from that. Considering its price tag (42K Euros vs 57K Euros in Holland), the GT86 is even more the thoroughbred sportscar than the M135i is. The 1M would be more in the GT86's class as for its approach to driving perhaps, but the 1M is more expensive big time. So overall, the GT86 would be my car. Let's hope that BMW's M2 concept (below, spy shots are also available on the web since a few days) will follow that good old tradition as well instead of becoming another luxurious FWD or 4WD heavyweight. There are already too many Audi's on this planet.

I'm a big fan of this car. Its predecessor was renowned for having the ability to be driven flat out and that's what made it so great.

why doesn't it have more power. I reckon toyobaru left that job to ppl like me. Thanks guys I can't wait to see these on the road with twice the power.

The 135i sounds like a laugh too but will prolly feel like a tank compared to the brz