Wednesday 22nd November 2017

The half-price Toyota GT86: Spotted

PH's perennial favourite is now out of warranty and getting closer to £10K...

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Despite its popularity on PistonHeads, even the GT86's most loyal fans will admit a few flaws in Toyota's little rear-wheel drive coupe. There's that well documented torque hole in the mid-range, the infamous 'Prius tyres' and the sneaking suspicion that its deft chassis can handle a smidge more power.

How much better would this look on some TE37s?

Now these problems could - and have - been addressed by the aftermarket, an assortment of owners tweaking their Toyotas to create the car of their dreams. Or the GT86 of their dreams, at least. Screaming superchargers, suspension upgrades, stickier tyres, wide body kits, Ferrari 458 engines... If you want it, chances are that part is available to improve your GT86.

Trouble is the modifications will invalidate your warranty and, with Toyota being the conscientious manufacturer that it is, every new GT86 comes with a five-year guarantee. So any Toyota tinkerers unwilling to forego manufacturer back up have had to wait half a decade to get their hands on a liberated car. Now's that time...

Yes, the GT86 did skid onto the sports car scene in 2012. The year of the London Olympics, Skyfall and the Diamond Jubilee of our dear old Queen. All far less significant than that 200hp Toyota. It's not perfect, sure, but credit is still due to Toyota for persisting with the idea of (reasonably) affordable rear-wheel drive and offering prospective hot hatch buyers something different for their £25K.

Now they're less than half that, this black, manual GT86 available for precisely £12,142 and looking prime for some choice modifications. Registered in 2012, it will already be out of warranty or very close to it; and nobody is thinking about car modifications a month from Christmas, are they? The mileage is a fraction under average and there's nothing from the available photos that would cause concern. Well, apart from the iffy Photoshop work and the fuel reserve light being illuminated...

Arguably nothing you need to change in here

You can go below this money for GT86s already, though sadly the only ones of those we've seen so far have been damaged or automatic. Hard to know which is worse. And while they will continue to depreciate, it's difficult to imagine the GT86 really troubling the bargain basement bin given their relative scarcity. Obviously we're happy to be proven wrong on this point.

Given modifying is always budget dependent, and £12,000 is hardly an insignificant amount of money, pitching a definitive list of mods seems redundant. Should it be our money, the wheels and tyres would be switched first and then the focus turned to making that engine breathe a little more freely. And less gruffly. Call it £15K if we don't actually switch the wheels and just paint them one colour.

Of course there's a whole host of alternatives for the money, various M cars, Japanese rally nutters and perhaps something lightweight if you're more committed. Personally the GT86's virtues continue to shine through however, offering something modern, reliable and fun for a fairly modest outlay. That the sky really is the limit for modifications only makes it more tempting. Dangerously so, you might say!

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SPECIFICATION - TOYOTA GT86

Engine: 1,998cc, flat-four
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 151@6,400-6,600rpm
MPG: 36.2 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 181g/km
First registered: 2012
Recorded mileage: 54,869
Price new: £24,995
Yours for: £12,142

See the original advert here.

[Gandahar]

Feck all that "slightly bigger wheels" and grippier tyres.

Just bung it down Fensport for turbocharging or Abbey motorsport for supercharging.

The whole ethos behind Japanese tuning is big numbers

Pftt to your suggestion of some 225 Michelin D cup 2's

I hope my granny is not working for PH nowadays .........