Just forget about mentioning any car with an 86 badge without first unpacking its rich heritage. Spanning decades of pop culture including anime, video games and the sport of drifting, the Hachi-Roku (eight-six in Japan) is a thing of legend.
A decade ago, Toyota unleashed its follow-up to this legendary rear-wheel driven Corolla in the shape of a compact sports coupe. In 2022, with some inspired fettling from Gazoo Racing, it re-enters the fray with an all-new skin, slipperier than the last. The styling feels more Euro than before, and the cabin is a more premium affair now. But the most welcome upgrade must be the engine, still a flat four boxer, but now a 2.4-litre D-4S versus the predecessor’s two litre.
Subsequently, outputs have risen from 147kW and 205Nm to 172kW and 250Nm. It now brandishes a 6.3-second sprint to 100km, but its straight line turn of speed tells only half the story. We often refer to vehicles of its nature as track toys or weapons, but in truth, they’re cultivated and honed for the street.
Indeed, with a soundtrack that peaks north of 6000rpm and a short-throw manual gear lever perfectly filling your palm, responding succinctly to firm inputs while you dance on the pedals, well that’s just bliss. And it’s bliss on sale here, wholesale, as the GR86 carves up apex after apex, underpinned by a confidence-inspiring chassis and compliant but engaging suspension. The roads around the Cape contort like spaghetti, but the GR86 was here for it, firing off four-cylinder staccato barks via twin-barrel exhaust pipes.
The corners are equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, so sticking this lower, wider and lighter 86 to the asphalt is a cinch, but other factors also contribute to its ability. Torsional rigidity has risen 50%, and Gazoo have further streamlined engine flanges for better performance, and then there’s the even cleverer aero at play. Overall, the Gazoo Racing influence is omnipresent and has culminated in a GR86 that impresses on track but shines brightest in the real world.
When it comes to the GR86, we’re dealing in rarified air. It is, in 2023, a naturally aspirated, rear-driven, manually-shifting homage to the sportscar itself, and we adore it.
