Team Toyota GB is fielding the Toyota GT86 in the Production Class of the Britcar 24 Hours this September, marking the return of a famous racing vehicle that ruled the British Touring Car Championship twice in the mid-1980s. Regarded as the spiritual successor to the famous Toyota AE86, the GT86 will soon have its first British racing version. Team Toyota GB is currently working on the GT86 race car at the Buckinghamshire technical centre of GPRM, the race preparation firm responsible for the successful BTCC Toyota Avensis prototype. GPRM is working hard to transform the potent 2.0-litre sports car into a competitive track racer while retaining most of its standard road car’s specification. Team Toyota GB will announce the GT86’s race driver in the 24 Hours in coming weeks. The Toyota GT86 is powered by a 16-valve double overhead cam horizontally opposed ‘boxer’ engine that could provide up to 197bhp. It also depicts some of the best elements of three Toyota sporting models: the Sports 800, 2000GT and AE86. Toyota rolled out the critically acclaimed Toyota GT86 in the United Kingdom at the beginning of July. To be held on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit on September 22 -23, 2012, the Britcar 24 Hours is an endurance car race participated in by sports and GT cars. Team Toyota GB gained a racing reputation in the 1980s and ’90s, thanks to championship victories with the Corolla in the British Touring Car Championship and UK rallying.
Team Toyota GB to field Toyota GT86 in Britcar 24 Hours
by Gerald Ferreira, Email, 29 Jul, 2012
