Toyota Make Sure GR86 Doesn't Have The Same Fate As GR Supra

Toyota GR86. (Doc. Global Toyota)

Toyota has bid farewell to the GR Supra model with the launch of the Final Edition at the end of 2024 and ended the era of the iconic sports car.

Although GR Supra is currently certain to stop its production period, this does not apply to other Gazoo Racing (GR) ranks such as GR86.

Toyota North America's Senior Vice President Product Planning and Strategy, Cooper Ericksen said GR86 is an important model for high-performance cars from brands and will certainly be present in the next generation.

"This model has a very important role for companies and GRs, so we intend to have a cool next generation," Cooper said as quoted by MotorTrend, Tuesday, June 3.

He explained that Toyota GR86 has a qualified performance as a sports car that is more affordable but still offers a fun driving sensation for its fans.

"GR86 has a very important role as an affordable and fun sports car, a different driving sensation, and that's what we want to maintain in Toyota and GR ranks," he added.

Toyota GR86 is one of the best-selling GR models in some areas, especially for the North American market.

Last year, this two-door compact sports car sold 11,426 units in North America or slightly increased from 2023 to 11,078 units.

His twin had a different fate, namely Subaru BRZ, which experienced a significant decline in sales due to sales dropping 20.1 percent last year to 3,345 units.

Although the specifications have not been disclosed, the news circulating said that the next generation of GR86 will be equipped with hybrid drivers and will not use a basis from Subaru BRZ.

The car is reported to have the same 1.6 liter turbocharged engine as GR Yaris and GR Corolla, replacing 2.4 liter 4-cylinder naturally-assisted in the current generation.

Another interesting thing is that the car will be powered by hybrid driving as well as expanding Toyota's electrification line. It is estimated that this system is taken from the latest generation of Land Cruiser Prado.

Thus, this car has the potential to have more than 300 cellphones or an increase from the current 228 cellphones.

The combination of turbo machines, hybrid systems, and new platforms can make GR86 the next generation a much more resilient model in the compact sports car segment.