THE TOYOTA GT86 is a wonderful, driver-centric sports car built for fun, not for speed.
It is a car that makes you feel involved and engaged when you get behind the wheel and has edge-of-the-seat driving dynamics. Its raison d’être is to deliver the pure joy of driving.
The first Toyota GT86 debuted at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show and there is finally an updated version on the way that should hit our shores very shortly. Hurrah!
With this in mind we thought we’d look at some of the things that make the GT86 such a delightfully fun car.
Including the 2000GT, as driven by James Bond in You Only Live Twice, and the iconic 1980s classic AE86. Toyota pays tribute to these models in the name GT86.
The original GT86 had a 14.4-inch steering wheel which was the smallest ever fitted to a Toyota, however, the new 2017 GT86 one is even smaller at just 14.25 inches. Donald Trump could get a GT86 and his hands would look massive.
For example: the exhaust tip measures 86mm, exactly the same as the bore and stroke of the engine. How nerdy is that?
The badge – found on the centre of the steering wheel, rear of the car and side of the headlights – has four holes in the numbers to represent the wheels of the car as it powerslides.
It also represents the boxer engine layout.
There is a subtle ‘T’ pattern on many elements of the car. The ‘T’ stands for Toyota and this motif distinguish this version from the Subaru version (the two firms worked on the car together and it is also sold as a Subaru BRZ).
The motif is also the shape of the old Toyota badge. You’ll see this design on the front grille, instrument panel, rear centre fog lamp, the panel around the switches on the door, the mats and the spare wheel cover. It’s pretty neat when you spot it.
The GT86 has a classic sports car front-engine, rear-wheel drive setup and uses a naturally aspirated boxer engine, with the four cylinders arranged in a flat layout.
And these contribute to the car’s fun factor. You see, the tyres have relatively tenuous grip and lose traction at the rear quite easily – making the car tail-happy and relatively simple to drift. If you know how.
And that’s just since the car launched in 2012.
But there are two 65mm bulges in it – creating enough space for the occupants to wear helmets.
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