New special edition GR86 makes green great again

Toyota's latest 86 seemed beyond much meaningful improvement, but that hasn't stopped Gazoo trying...

By Matt Bird / Friday, 12 July 2024 / Loading comments

Long live the oddly named Japanese special edition. This is the Toyota GR86 RZ Ridge Green Limited, a car that evokes the old GT86 British Racing Green Limited with a dark green and gold colour combo. The Brembo vented discs and Sachs dampers that are optional on the standard car are included as well. There’s a black and tan interior, too, adding a touch of luxury to the 86’s fairly basic cabin. There’s even ‘Ridge Green Limited’ embroidered in the suede, for maximum special edition kudos. Just 200 will be made for the Japanese market, with a lottery open now until July 28th. Coming to a specialist importer near you soon…

The green machine has been announced alongside an update for the base GR, a refresh that might make for tough reading for those who want one and now can’t get one because of safety regulations. Toyota being Toyota and this being a GR product, the changes have come about through the feedback of racing drivers in the heat of competition for ‘improved turning performance and easier upper-limit handling’. So the dampers have been reworked ‘for a better sense of contact with the ground’ and the electric power steering has been tweaked as well. Toyota doesn’t mention specific alterations, but promises greater agility with no loss of stability. There’s said to be more feel right at the limit, too. Which all sounds a bit like making a car that’s easier to skid, and that’s great news.

Further ramping up the enthusiast kudos is a change to the engine torque control to make blipping the throttle on downshifts easier. When the rest of the world has pretty much abandoned the manual gearbox, here’s Toyota obsessing on heel and toe ‘at the upper limits of performance.’ Good on them. It’s even modified the automatic gearbox in response to customer feedback, allowing earlier downshifts on the way into a bend thanks to expanding the engine speed tolerance.

Both the Ridge Green Limited and the revised GR86 are on sale in Japan now, with prices from 2,936,000 yen (or a frankly ridiculous £14,260) for the base RC. The RZ that would be most comparable to UK spec is 3,518,000, also known as a sickening £17,100. Even the special edition is less than £19,000. No wonder Toyota can’t stop making them for the home market. Let’s hope a few more (potentially even better) 86s can make their way over here in time. Until then you’ll still need the best part of £30k for a GR in the UK; despite costing so much more than in Japan, the little Toyota will feel worth every single penny. Even if it’s not green.