The GT86 from Toyota can’t be a bad car if it won the Top Gear Magazine “Car of the Year” for 2012 and Autocar named it “Best Drivers Car”. A lively rear wheel drive sports car powered by a 2 litre boxer engine, that can hit 60mph in around 6.2 seconds (as tested by Subaru) and goes on to 145mph.
The Toyota 86 is a series of grand tourer sports coupés jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru. They feature a boxer engine, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and 2+2 seating. The 86 is sold under three different brands associated with its creators: Toyota (Toyota 86 in Japan, South Africa and Australia, Toyota GT86 in Europe, both names in New Zealand, and Toyota FT86 in Jamaica), Subaru (Subaru BRZ) and Scion (Scion FR-S for the United States and Canada).
The name 86 (pronounced “eight-six” or Hachi-Roku, more commonly pronounced as “eighty-six”) refers to the AE86 generation of rear-wheel drive sports coupes and hatchbacks sold as the Toyota Sprinter Trueno and Toyota Corolla Levin from 1983 to 1987. The 86 has been marketed as the spiritual successor to the AE86s by Toyota, with further referencing to a heritage tracing back to the Toyota 2000GT, a front engine, rear-drive sports car with a 2.0 litre engine, as well as the Toyota Sports 800, Toyota’s first sports car. The 86 “boxer” badge appears on all Toyota and Scion-badged versions of the car.
Initial layout and design elements for the 86 were first shown in 2007 on the Toyota FT-HS concept car. The FT-HS had a front engine, rear-wheel drive layout and 2+2 seating, but utilized a V6 engine with hybrid electric assistance. In 2008 Toyota bought 16.5% of Fuji Heavy Industries, parent to Subaru. Toyota, led by project leader Tetsuya Tada, offered Subaru involvement in their sport coupé project, co-developing a new boxer engine known as the D4-S, but Subaru rejected plans for further development of a rear wheel drive sports coupe due to their vehicle line-up predominantly offering all-wheel drive. Subaru’s balk led the project to a six month halt before Toyota invited journalist and Subaru engineers to test a developmental prototype to demonstrate the capabilities of the platform. Following the test, Subaru agreed to become further involved in development.
The new collaboration produced a new concept car in October 2009 at the Tokyo Motor Show, the FT-86. Smaller than the FT-HS, the design of the FT-86 was further refined by Toyota’s ED2 design studio while the hybrid V6 engine was replaced by the new D4-S boxer. Subaru provided the chassis and gearbox for the concept car, basing it on a Impreza. The concept was painted Shoujyouhi Red, based on the backside of a Japanese Macaque.
The following year, Toyota launched their G Sports line of aftermarket accessories, and showed the FT-86 G Sports fitted with G Sports performance parts. These included carbon fibre panels, a vented bonnet, rear wing, 19 in (48 cm) wheels, Recaro race seats, and an interior rollcage. The D4-S engine also added a turbocharger.
In 2011, Toyota and Subaru unveiled five near-production concept cars to show their progress with the project. The first, known as the FT-86 II Concept, was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011. ED2 refined the design of the initial FT-86, developing new front and rear fascias, and increasing the dimensions of the car by several millimeters.At the same show Subaru unveiled a transparent silhouette concept car to show off the new D4-S boxer engine and display the “Boxer Sports Car Architecture”. Scion followed next in April at the New York Auto Show with the FR-S Sports Coupe Concept, co-developed with aftermarket tuner Five Axis.Another semi-transparent Subaru, known as the BRZ Prologue, was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, followed in November at the Los Angeles International Auto Show by the BRZ Concept STI, the first full mock-up of Subaru’s version of the 86 with input from Subaru Tecnica International.
The 86’s engine, known by the Toyota code 4U-GSE and Subaru code FA20, is a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine that uses Subaru’s horizontally opposed boxer engine layout. Toyota added their D-4S injection system which uses both direct and port injection. The engine has a 12.5:1 compression ratio and a bore and stroke of 86 mm (3.4 in) that results in 200 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 151 lb·ft of torque at 6,000 rpm. As part of the 86’s low-weight design, the car utilizes an aluminum hood, a solid roof, and a trunk as opposed to a hatchback. The boxer engine sits as far back and as low as possible in the engine bay for a weight distribution of 53% in front and 47% in the rear. The low-sitting engine provides a lower center of gravity, allowing the engine to sit lower than the Nissan GTR and just 0.6 inches higher than the Lexus LFA.
The FR-S, 86 and BRZ are offered with two 6-speed transmissions built by Aisin, a manual gearbox and an automatic transmission which is modified from the Lexus IS-F, minus two gears. The automatic uses a traditional wet torque converter design, but its software has been engineered to mimic the response of a dual-clutch gearbox. The automatic transmission uses three different modes: Sport, Snow, and Normal. A torque sensing limited slip differential is standard on most models.
The vehicles are offered with 16 in (41 cm) and 17 in (43 cm) diameter wheels. The wheels are lightweight and wrapped in Michelin Primacy HP tyres with a diameter and width of 215/45. All three cars feature optional ventilated disc brakes at all four corners with two piston-opposed calipers in the front and single caliper design in the rear, and are equipped with MacPherson suspension in the front and double wishbones in the rear.
The 86 was designed around a front-mounted boxer engine, rear-wheel drive configuration, inspired by the AE86. The flat architecture of the boxer engine allows it to be mounted low, dropping the center of gravity down, resulting in sporty handling characteristics. The exterior design of the 86 was inspired by the Toyota 2000GT’s extremely low-to-the-ground profile and long, sleek hood. According to the 86’s designers, “The goal was to create an authentic rear-wheel drive sports car with compelling style, exceptionally balanced performance and handling, flexible utility and surprising MPG.”When asked about the TRD version of the car, the lead engineer Mr. Tada said “There is definitely going to be a more TRD oriented variant down the line. However any of the parts that would be standard on the TRD model will fit on your current Toyota 86 so there is no need to wait.”
