At last, the all-new Toyota sports car was unveiled today ahead of the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show: this is the 2012 Toyota GT 86. The new car might create two groups of people, the ones who hate it and the ones who love it. Although many of you would consider that the concept version of the car, the Toyota FT-86, looked sportier and more interesting design lines, we will be in the group of people who like the car. Of course, we do admit that the car needed larger wheels or a new rear spoiler like the Subaru BRZ STI Concept, but overall the Toyota GT 86 is an interesting car.
The GT 86 measures 4,240mm long, 1,285mm high and 2,570mm wide, dimensions which make it the most compact four-seater sports car available today. Moreover, the powertrain and the driving position have been set as low and as far back as possible to achieve the best balance: the car has a near-perfect 53:47 front-to-rear weight distribution. The Toyota GT 86 promises to feature the lowest center of gravity of any current Toyota production model, at just 475 mm. The suspension features MacPherson struts at the front and double wishbones at the rear. The car rides on 17-inch wheels and is fitted with ventilated disc brakes fore and aft.
Under the hood we find an engine developed by Toyota and Subaru: Toyota added its D-4S injection technology to Subaru’s new, horizontally opposed, naturally aspirated 1,998cc four-cylinder boxer engine. The engine delivers 197bhp at 7,000 rpm and maximum torque of 205 Nm at 6,600 rpm. The engine will be mated as standard to a six-speed manual transmission while a 6-speed automatic gearbox will be available as an option. As expected, the power of the engine is delivered to the road through the rear wheels. Power is distributed to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential to give the best possible grip in all driving conditions.
