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Critics of the Toyota GR86’s natural aspiration may soon finally have their way if reports from Japan claiming the rear-wheel drive sports car will get a turbocharger are accurate.
Trusty Japanese publication Best Car Web has confirmed with sources that the development of a new Toyota GR86 is already underway, with expectations that the current-generation car won’t meet incoming Japanese emission standards.
Instead, it’s reported that Toyota will take the turbocharged 1.6-litre three-cylinder petrol engine from its GR Yaris hot hatch and, much like it did for the GR Corolla, transplant it into the larger car.
It’s expected the new GR86 will remain rear-wheel drive, though with a twist. Best Car reports the engine will be assisted by a hybrid system similar to that used in the new Toyota Crown.
The hybrid system, called Hybrid Max, works for both front and rear axles in the Crown but is reportedly being adapted to assist the three-cylinder engine in powering just the rear wheels for the GR86.
Since the GR86 will have a hybridised version of the GR Yaris engine, which alone can comfortably pump out more than 200kW, Best Car expects to see the 86 produce more than 225kW, or even up to 245kW.
Additionally, the report sources say the GR86 will remain a three-pedal manual, with the transmission to be built by a new manufacturer.
Interestingly, Best Car reports the next Toyota 86 won’t be built on the ubiquitous TNGA platform, as the best option for building a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive car on that platform is the GA-L version, which is designed for much larger cars like the Crown or Lexus LS.
Instead, the next 86 will be built on the same platform as the current Lexus IS, an older platform but one capable of being adapted to the smaller rear-drive sports car. The upside is that the IS was heavily updated and its platform revamped for 2020 and can already accommodate a hybrid powertrain.
Further cementing the report that Toyota is working on a GR Yaris-powered GR 86 is the fact that Toyota has already done it.
In the 2022 Japanese Super Taikyu Series, Toyota partnered with two racing teams to enter three cars, two GR86s and a Corolla, all powered by different fuels.
One of the aforementioned GR86s is powered by a 1.4-litre version of the Yaris engine, and tuned to run on carbon-neutral fuel.
This means the GR86 will be, rather than a Subaru-plus-Toyota joint production, a completely Toyota-developed model. What this means for the Subaru BRZ is as yet unclear.
Sources report Toyota is expecting to have the next-gen GR86 ready to announce in 2025, giving the second-generation car a much shorter lifespan than the first had, less than five years compared to almost a decade.
Best Car even goes as far as estimating specifications like weight, which is pegs at around 1350kg, and its length, width, and height: 4.4m, 1.8m and 1.3m respectively.
Finally, expect the next GR86 to be significantly more expensive. The current generation sells in Japan for between 2.8 million and 3.5 million yen, or between AUD$29,500 and $36,800 when directly converted. Best Car sources estimate that will increase to between four million and 4.5 million yen, or AUD$42,100 and $47,400.
A quick look at current Australian pricing suggests the next-gen GR86 will likely nudge north of $50,000 when it eventually arrives, as the just-launched second-gen car starts from $43,240 before on-road costs.
Given the current 2.4-litre flat-four engine in the GR86 uses about 1.0 litre per 100km more than the previous generation in both manual and automatic (9.5L/100km vs 8.4L; 8.8L/100km vs 7.8L), it’s not surprising Toyota is already looking ahead to future-proof the GR86 and its emissions.
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