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The 2021 Toyota GR86 Is Here, Replacing The GT86

Finally, after months of rumours and excitement, the replacement to the Toyota GT86 is here, and it’s called the GR86. And it’s all thanks to company president Akio Toyoda, who has made the GR sports devision a priority for the company, paving the way for this, the GR Yaris, and the GR Supra.

The GR86 still focusses on the joy of driving, retaining its manual gearbox, rear-wheel-drive setup, and playful chassis. But Toyota has listened to its customers, and now it has more power thanks to a 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated boxer engine from Subaru. Producing 232 horsepower and 184lb ft of torque, the car is now over a second faster to 60mph than the outgoing GT86, hitting that speed in just 6.3 seconds. It’s also down on weight, sitting at 1270kg.

The chassis aims to please with MacPherson struts at the front and double wishbones at the rear, and its size is similar to the outgoing model. Improved, though, is the chassis rigidity, which is now 50% up allowing the suspension to take the load for a more dialled in driving dynamic. 18-inch wheels sit at each corner, and yes, they’re still delightfully narrow at 215 all round.

Inside the car you’ll find a similar cabin to the old car. There are buttons (yay!), a large screen in the centre of the dashboard, and it looks very diver-centric.

Prices are yet to be released, but we’re expecting a very small increase over the GT86 which started at around £25,000 in the UK. I wouldn’t expect a base model to go over the £30k mark.

We’re more than excited to see how this drives beyond the numbers, but we’re now wondering… which will be the better car? The Subaru doppelgänger BRZ, or the famous GR86?

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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