Wednesday 8th February 2012

GT 86 for £16K...

...but only if you live in Japan, home of the true purist-spec version complete with steelies and unpainted bumpers

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Back at the launch of the Toyota GT 86 last year, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said he “wanted to go back to basics."

Next step up gets - gasp! - alloy wheels

Now we know exactly what he meant. Pistonheads has uncovered the cheapest 86 model sold in Japan and discovered exactly why it’s almost £10,000 less than the UK version.

True purists will be thrilled. While people who thought they were purists might waver when they read the list of missing kit from the RC model, the cheapest of four versions on sale from April.

No cupholders is a good start, and no air con a necessary sacrifice for weight loss. Who needs front fogs anyway, and you can live without a boot lamp, or indeed an intake manifold cover. Plastic covering for the steering wheel and gear shifter isn’t ideal, but man-made materials have come on a long way since its forebear, the Corolla AE86. But no stereo, or indeed any speakers could be a stretch too far.

'Red bits' feature on the GT model

And when you take delivery, the wing mirrors, door handles and front and rear bumpers are in ‘foundation’, meaning they lack exterior paint finish.

But the biggest omission is our favourite. No alloys, but instead you ride on 16-inch steel wheels with 205/55 rubber, as opposed to 17-inch 215/45 tyres for the top-spec GT Limited.

All this slashes the price to just 1.9m Yen (£16,320). That’s compared to the £24,995 for the UK car when it arrives later in the year, the spec of which is much more in line with the JDM GT Limited (3m Yen), including 17-inch alloys, HID headlamps, LED running lights, dual-zone air con, aluminium pedals and cruise control.

According to the Japanese consumer website, the stripped back RC weighs 1,190kg compared to 1,230kg for the GT Limited, which is another reason not to go high spec. Disappointingly you do lose the limited slip diff.

JDM GT Limited equivalent to £25K UK spec

However Toyota doesn’t expect Japanese buyers to stick to the showroom poverty spec. Customisation is the name of the game, and in the “spirit of the AE86”, according to the website, the personalisation starts with a bare-bones RC. But wouldn’t it be fun to keep it like that?

The alternative is the full-spec TRD (Toyota Racing Developments) makeover, revealed earlier this year in Tokyo, which included reworked suspension and 18-inch alloys. So, show off or purist? Let’s hope Toyota – and Subaru of course – expand the range so we get the choice here too.

[beeblebrox]

It looks like it's escaped from a Euro NCAP facility with those bumpers.

[Stig]

With such a massive Japanese tuner market, this is a sound strategy. Let them buy the back to basics model which provides the perfect platform for racing (and inevitably drifting) versions. No surprise at the lack of LSD, given that the drift crowd will wind them so tight as to be almost locked anyway.

Expect to see some mad tuned versions in the near distant no doubt!

[s m]

Stig said:

No surprise at the lack of LSD, given that the drift crowd will wind them so tight as to be almost locked anyway.

Weren't they going to offer a plated over here as an option over the standard Torsen?

[redgriff500]

Stig said:

With such a massive Japanese tuner market, this is a sound strategy.

Exactly - no one expects them to stay standard for long.

[Twilight1]

That is just great news. I'm glad that a company like Toyota and the chairman Akio Toyoda who is an enthusiast himself, is able to make motoring fun and exciting again. I'm sure it will do good for the Toyota- brand too.

[TobesH]

Love it - and stick a turbo and charger on it!!!

[David87]

They should sell that in the UK, even if it's just for PHers!

[Hub]

That's amazing. I think I'd pay just slightly more for painted bumpers though!

[glendon]

This is the perfect antidote to increasingly ostentacious and blingy cars, I actually think it looks great!

[xRIEx]

Very smart idea for any car that is likely to be a hit with the tuner demographic. With the matt black bumpers, they might as well go one step further and offer a model in primer and save the equivalent of a few hundred quid on painting it.

[tomellingham]

Looks like no radio and glovebox too.

[vicpolky]

Love it. Love the spirit of it, the pared back no-frills-ness of it. Love it on the steelies. It reminds me of the no frills sports cars of the 50s and 60s.

[GingerWizard]

Love it love it love it.

That poverty spec just exudes cool !!!!! I would buy one right now for the sheer joy of driving it. 16k is just mental considering.......

They have just unleashed an absolute weapon onto the market.... The new generation has arrived!

[gofasterrosssco]

Agree with the above comments, good idea, although not especially a new one for Japan anyway - was there various spec's of Evo that effectively came 'bare' as they were expected to be used as competition vehicles..

Still, no one really seems to care for the 'wolfrace' style wheel on the GT models anyway, so stick on your own set of lightweight 16"'s, fit you own stereo, and a bit of paint on the front and rear and your off. Would suit me fine..

[5lab]

how does this compare in price to the japan cost of the version we get? i'd be surprised if it saves more than 5k. still its refreshing to see a manufacturer charge less for the stripped out version, maybe porsche, mini and renault could follow suit?

[GingerWizard]

5lab said:

how does this compare in price to the japan cost of the version we get? i'd be surprised if it saves more than 5k. still its refreshing to see a manufacturer charge less for the stripped out version, maybe porsche, mini and renault could follow suit?

we have to pay for "air " in europe, the less a car has the more it costs.......

[bigbadbikercats]

Bad news for the people who might have been hoping to pick up the bits the mod/tuner crowd would otherwise be throwing away to use on projects or as repair parts :-)

No cheap 17" alloy wheels, pre-painted body parts, or interior bits on enBay for these babies!

[kambites]

Hang on, I thought this was aimed at least partly at the drift scene and they've removed the LSD? Are they expecting people to fit their own, higher spec ones?

I like the idea, but I suppose I'm mildly disappointed they've only lost 40kg. That's not a massive weight saving for the drop in usability. Mind you, I think it's only the stereo that I would really miss. Can you put individual bits back in as optional extras?

Edited by kambites on Wednesday 8th February 08:54

[BigTom85]

I'll take painted bumpers please. The rest you can keep!



Those alloys are much better than the bigger ones imho. I hope we get them as an option at least.

[Stig]

BigTom85 said:

I'll take painted bumpers please. The rest you can keep!



Those alloys are much better than the bigger ones imho. I hope we get them as an option at least.

The steel 16's are likely to be lighter than the alloy 17's. Less unsprung weight = quicker acceleration/braking and better handling.

I believe the vernacular is 'WIN'