Exciting news for South African motorheads with cash to burn; Toyota South Africa has revealed the all-new Toyota GR 86 will be available locally. The sports car made its world début during an online event hosted by Toyota Gazoo Racing and Subaru Corporation, and will launch in South Africa in 2022.
The GR 86 becomes the third model in its global GR portfolio, joining the widely acclaimed GR Supra and GR Yaris.
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The flashy GR 86 inherits the essential fun-to-drive characteristics of the original GT86, which was launched in 2012. The original vehicle was extremely popular and went on to amass more than 200,000 worldwide sales. It is expected to be the lightest four-seater coupé in its class, thanks to weight-saving initiatives such as using aluminium for the roof and body panels.
The stylish coupé is powered by a new, lightweight, horizontally opposed, four-cylinder engine. An increase in displacement to 2.4-litres brings a step-up in performance from the 2.0-litre unit in GT86. Preliminary power figures1 are quoted as 173 kW and 250 Nm (pending local market confirmation).
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The car’s dimensions are almost identical to its predecessor, allowing the new model to maintain a low centre of gravity for agile handling. Torsional rigidity has been increased by around 50 per cent to deliver even sharper handling and steering.
GT86’s experience in motorsport competition has helped the development of functioning aerodynamic components for GR 86, such as the front air ducts and side-rocker panels. These will help the new model achieve expected best-in-class handling and stability.
The GR 86 is set for local début in Q1 of 2022, with local pricing yet to be confirmed.
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