Toyota roars into life with GT86

TOYOTA has a reputation for making reliable cars. This is a big draw for punters, but for others the overwhelming dullness of the cars stifles desirability.

That said, Toyota has a rich heritage in rallying and endurance racing, although its Formula One efforts were a horrific example of getting it wrong spectacularly and expensively.

Toyota has designed a new road car to sparkle things up, which it hopes will once more breathe life into that legacy. That car is the GT86 and petrol-heads will remember the Celica, the Supra and the MR2 as imbued with decent sporting prowess.

So, according to Toshiaki Noda, one of the men behind the GT86, the opportunity for Toyota to build a new sports car emerged in 2006, when the company formed an alliance with Subaru, and the following year gave the go-ahead for a small team to investigate building a ‘worthy’ new sports car.

The GT86 is the result from Toyota’s side (the Subaru version, the BRZ, will be unveiled shortly), and, according to Noda, his company set out to build a compact 2+2 sports car, but with its origins harking back to earlier key models from its stable — namely the Toyota Sports 800, the 2000 GT, and the AE86.

While the GT86’s DNA has been established, it is a very special machine, indeed. It is the single most driver-orientated sports car in a long time. Toyota says the GT68 is designed for those ‘who consider driving a passion rather than necessity.’ Equipped with a front-mounted, normally aspirated ‘boxer’ engine, with the power driven to the rear wheels, it is the essence of a sports car. According to Noda, the car was designed with three must-have characteristics: front engine/rear drive, no turbocharging and a low centre of gravity. The GT86 has achieved all these aims.

The car’s weight distribution is 53/47, the engine produces 200 bhp, and the bore and stroke is 86x86 — hence the name of the car. The designers demanded superb handling rather than outright performance, and their reasoning was that a driver’s enjoyment is better served by uproarious handling than outrageous performance.

As such, according to Noda, Toyota is proud of what it has achieved. So it should be.

The result is that every worldwide region where the GT86 will be sold is clamouring for more units and Toyota are confident they will sell more than 100,000.

According to Robert Tickner, Toyota Europe’s product communications boss, the GT86 will add a new dimension to people’s understanding of the Toyota brand, and, in itself, will affect showroom footfall.

“This car is all about smiles per hour, not miles per hour,” Tickner said. “The pure intrinsic joy of driving it makes it a very unique proposition.”

With regard to the car’s potential impact on the market here in Ireland, Toyota says that it sold 900 versions of the Celica, the Supra and the MR2 combined, and, on that basis, it hopes to sell decent numbers of its latest sports contender.

The GT68 will be available in Ireland from June, priced at €39,895, for both the manual and automatic versions.

Toyota dealers will have a considerable number of inquiries about this car in the coming months. The car’s look, all bulging wheel arches, slick wings and edgy exterior styling, will stimulate anyone with any ounce of petrol in their veins.

The interior might be a tad uninspired, but the pared-down feel adds to the lightweight and purposeful intent. On the road — and on the track, where we were allowed do the hooligan in comparative safety — the GT86 demonstrated its class and the joie de vivre it so readily imparts to anyone willing to explore its capabilities.

It might be a bit early to classify it as an instant classic, but time will prove me right. Other than the Peugeot RCZ and the VW Scirocco, there’s not much direct competition for the GT86 and that is another reason why its appeal will be strong and broad.

The GT86 not only looks good, but it truly is good, too, and while some drivers might have to go down the ‘you-have-to-try-it-to-believe-it’ road before they are convinced, they will — believe me — be convinced.

We will, of course, have more on the car when we get our mitts on it here in Ireland in the coming weeks.