Having been around since early 2012, the Toyota GT86 is one of the oldest sports cars on the market and some would say it’s in dire need of a replacement. Although we have yet to see spy shots of the second generation, we at least know straight from the horse’s mouth that a new car is being developed and it will once again have a sister model in the Subaru BRZ. Now, a new report published by Autocar attempts to shed some light on the dynamic duo, which is expected to switch from a Subaru platform to Toyota’s TNGA.
Official:
Transitioning to the new architecture will be done to provide the 86 and BRZ with an improved rear-wheel-drive behaviour as the cars will allegedly go through “substantial changes” compared to the current models. But while Toyota will provide the platform, it is believed Subaru will be in charge of providing motivation by installing a flat-four boxer engine, presumably a turbocharged 2.4-litre derived from the Ascent.
Gallery: Toyota GR HV Sports concept
Horsepower count is slated to increase from just over 200 bhp to more than 255 bhp along with a substantial torque bump available much earlier in the rpm range thanks to the implementation of forced induction. As a refresher, the current Toyota GT86 offers 156 pound-feet (212 Newton-metres) of torque for a 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 7.6 seconds when equipped with the manual and 8.2 seconds for the automatic model.
Toyota and Subaru are also determined to make some changes inside where the cabins will benefit from better materials to improve the perceived quality. Not only will there be better materials throughout the interior, but also the fit and finish will go up a notch and so will the amount of technology crammed inside.
All of these tweaks will come at a cost as the second generation of sports cars will be more expensive than the current models. However, they’ll still be more affordable than the fancier Audi TT. In the case of the GT86, Toyota certainly won’t want the next-gen model to step on the toes of the base four-cylinder Supra sold in Japan.
When the new duo will eventually come out, the Toyota model might make the switch to the “GR86” moniker to follow the sports car nomenclature used already for the GR Supra and the new GR Yaris. The lineup will be crowned by a legitimate hypercar – previewed by the GR Super Sport concept – with around 1,000 bhp. At home in Japan, the company has a comprehensive GR sports car range with everything from a Prius to the Noah MPV.
Source: Autocar