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2022 Toyota GR 86 officially revealed, Australian launch confirmed

This is it: the 2022 Toyota GR 86 has been officially revealed, close to six months after the unveiling of its Subaru relative.


Twin under the skin to the new Subaru BRZ, the second-generation 86 sports car joins the GR Supra and GR Yaris under the wing of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing performance arm – with a notable performance bump to match its hi-po GR 86 name.

Powering the GR 86 is a variant of the 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder 'boxer' engine found in its BRZ cousin, sending 173kW (at 7000rpm) and 250Nm (at 3700rpm) to the rear wheels through a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions.

Fans will note those outputs are up 3kW and 1Nm over the new-generation BRZ revealed in November, though it's worth noting the figures announced at the time were 'estimated' US-market numbers, with the Japanese-spec BRZ matching the GR 86 on grunt.

While the new numbers remain 'initial' specifications based on Japanese prototype vehicles, they do represent increases over the outgoing 86 of 21kW/38Nm in manual guise, or 26kW/45Nm in automatic versions.

Toyota claims a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.3 seconds – 1.1 seconds quicker than the old car's 7.4-second claim, and on par with the new-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatch.

Under the skin, the brand hasn't stated whether the new GR 86 rides on a new platform over the outgoing model, though the similar glasshouse shape and proportions suggest it's a carry-over architecture.

However, Toyota has made significant revisions to the new model's chassis, with a 50 per cent increase in torsional rigidity claimed, along with a lower centre of gravity thanks to an aluminium roof, aluminium front quarter-panels, new front seats, and redesigned rear mufflers.

MacPherson front and double-wishbone rear suspension systems are standard, as are ventilated disc brakes, which hide behind 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 215/40 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres on higher grades.

The GR 86 measures 4265mm long, 1775mm wide and 1310mm high, riding on a 2575mm wheelbase – 25mm longer overall, 10mm lower, and 10mm longer between the front and rear wheels.

Toyota claims the sports car tips the scales in at 1270kg (kerb), in its lightest, manual-equipped guise – 35kg porkier than the outgoing version.

Where the Toyota and Subaru twins differ most is on the design front, with the GR 86's design changes headlined by a unique front bumper first discovered in patent filings, with a large central intake and L-shaped black trim pieces on each edge.

Differences are few and far between towards the rear, with both cars sharing their rear bumpers, claw-shaped tail-light signatures, dual exhaust tips and ally wheel designs.

Inside, the similarities continue, with both models sharing a new 7.0-inch TFT digital instrument display, though the Toyota features an opening animation "inspired by the piston movements of the [car's] horizontally opposed engine".

The GR 86 also appears to score a far larger infotainment screen than the Subaru's 8.0-inch unit – though it's likely this will be unique to the Japanese market – along with an array of red accents on the door cards and seats.

An number of active safety technologies are now available on automatic models, including autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control – however, manual models miss out on the potentially life-saving tech.

When will the 2022 Toyota GR 86 come to Australia?

The 2022 Toyota GR 86 has been confirmed for Australia, however exactly when it will arrive remains unclear.

Additional information – including final engine specifications for Australian-delivered models – will be announced in "due course".

The Subaru BRZ is set to arrive in Australia by the end of 2021 – we'd wager Toyota would aim to match that timing, or follow a few months behind, given the GR 86 will go on sale in Japan in the northern autumn of 2021, just three months after the new BRZ.

In a statement, Toyota Australia's vice president of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley, said: "The new GR 86 has been specially designed for sports performance with precise and playful handling, delivering pure driving pleasure and a strong emotional connection between driver and car.

"It is a stylish, compact four-seater that draws on Toyota's impressive sports-car heritage including the legendary 2000GT, Celica GT-Four, MR2 and original Supra, as well as its more recent GR siblings."

A total of 20,800 units of the original 86 have been sold in Australia since its launch in 2012, around 10 per cent of the 200,000-plus units shifted globally.

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Alex Misoyannis

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

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