New Toyota GR 86 breaks cover!

UPDATE, September 23, 2022: New GR86 on sale in Oz, and DRIVEN!

The new 2023 Toyota GR86 has finally launched in Australia, and we've now driven the version buyers will get. See our full review at the link below.

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Toyota GR86 revealed

Say hello to the new 2022 Toyota GR 86, a heavily revised version of the brand's back-to-basics sports car.

Once its Subaru BRZ twin had been announced, it was only a matter of time before the Toyota broke cover – but thankfully, reports its reveal had been delayed to the end of 2022 have proved wide of the mark.

Local pricing, specification and timing is still to be confirmed, but a number of technical details have been released, as well as confirmation of the car's new name.

Now known as 'GR 86', the new coupe moves under Toyota's Gazoo Racing umbrella to sit beside the GR Supra and GR Yaris.

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Like the Subaru, the 86's familiar horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine remains, but an 8mm bore increase has increased capacity to 2.4 litres (2387cc).

These changes have increased power by 21kW and torque by 38Nm for grand totals of 173kW at 7000rpm and 250Nm at 3700rpm.

That torque peak is not only higher but it occurs earlier in the rev range, the extra capacity hopefully solving one of the original 86's greatest shortcomings, a lack of mid-range grunt.

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The story gets better for those who prefer, or require, that the car shift its own gears. While buyers of the previous automatic-equipped 86 have had to make do with lower outputs (147kW/205Nm vs 152kW/212Nm) the full whack is now available in six-speed manual and automatic form.

No performance figures have been announced, but we'd expect the 0-100km/h dash to fall to around the 6.5-second mark.

Of course, straight-line acceleration has never been a priority of the 86, and while the body and suspension package are very similar to the previous car, the adoption of an aluminium roof and guards lowers the centre of gravity.

Likewise, torsional rigidity is claimed to have been improved by 50 per cent for greater handling precision.

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The familiar silhouette is differentiated by significantly revised styling front and rear, while inside there are new seats, digital instruments, rotary air-conditioning controls with digital displays, and a revised dash design.

Happily, the old-school manual handbrake remains in place. After all, it'd be blasphemy to ditch it.

When will the 2022 Toyota GR 86 go on sale in Australia?

Australia has been one of the biggest markets for the Toyota 86, its 20,800 sales accounting for around 10 per cent of global production. We'll bring you more details, including local pricing, as it comes to hand.

Local timing for the GR 86 is still to be confirmed, although it has been reported that both Toyota and Subaru Australia are expecting their new sports coupes to arrive in the second half of this year.

MORE: 86 news and reviews
MORE: Subaru BRZ news and reviews
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Tell us: which do you prefer the look of, GR 86 or BRZ?

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