Toyota 86 2013

Toyota takes its new rear-drive sport coupe to the racetrack

To coincide with this year’s Tokyo Auto Show, Toyota rolled out its new rear-wheel-drive sports coupe, now officially called the 86, in front of thousands at the Fuji Speedway in Japan. The car was driven by Akio Toyoda, the company’s president and the man in charge of giving some passion and performance zing to an automaker known for building reliable but dull vehicles. The choice of this location bodes well for the car’s image, and we appreciate what Mr. Toyoda has done with the 86. 

Toyota has co-developed the 86 with Subaru, which will market a version of the car as the BRZ coupe. We caught of preview of that variant only a few weeks ago, when the Subaru BRZ Concept STI made an appearance during the Los Angeles Auto Show. Powered by a horizontally opposed 4-cylinder producing 197 bhp, these sport coupes should offer strong performance and nimble handling. A 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters on the steering wheel will be available. 

 The styling is light on superfluous details, such as towering wings and aggressive air scoops—although more than a few have been spotted on concept and prototype versions. If the shape is a little too mature for your tastes, stay tuned for high-performance variants, likely equipped with turbocharged 4-cylinder engines. For now, we’re just happy that this long project has finally produced a finished result.

Toyota will not sell the cars as the 86 in the U.S. Rather, it will be sold as the Scion FR-S. A concept car with that name appeared earlier this year at the New York Auto Show and was on the cover of Road & Track’s August 2011 issue. 

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