Toyota GR86 Australian release date and specs confirmed for September launch

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The drip feed of Toyota GR86 information for Australian buyers continues, with the Japanese carmaker locking in the specification of a two-strong range for the rear-wheel drive sports car. Pricing has been withheld and is set to be announced later.

Fans of the GR86 have been waiting a long time. Toyota’s latest GR86 announcement comes six months after the launch of its cousin, the second-gen Subaru BRZ, which starts at $38,990 before on-road costs. You can read our review of the new BRZ here.

As with the first-gen car, Toyota will offer two core grades of GR86: GT and GTS, with pricing to be announced at the car’s official launch in September 2022. Toyota will also sell 86 limited-run 10th anniversary variants.

Until pricing is announced, we won’t be able to directly compare the new GR86 with Subaru’s BRZ for value, but a previously estimated starting price of around $37K for the manual GT would see the GR86 undercut the BRZ Coupe.

When the previous-generation Toyota 86 2.0-litre was discontinued in Australia, a manual GT cost $32,180 before on-road costs and a manual GTS cost $37,380.

Read more about the 2023 Toyota GR86

• Toyota GR86 track preview drive
• GR86 September release date confirmed
• How much will the GR 86 cost in Australia?
• Five differences between the GR86 and BRZ

Despite the protracted launch of Toyota’s affordable sports car in Australia, vice president of sales and marketing Sean Hanley is enthused about the 86’s arrival.

 “When we launched the first-generation 86 in 2012, it captured the hearts and minds of performance enthusiasts with its blend of driving ability and affordability,” Mr Hanley said.

And while the new car will climb in price significantly over the original GT’s $29,990 sticker price in 2012, Toyota’s GR86 still offers an affordable price next to the more powerful Supra, Nissan’s forthcoming Z and the Mazda MX-5. 

What does each GR86 spec get?

The biggest change is the updated 2.4-litre petrol flat-four engine now developing 174kW of power and 250Nm of torque. Meaningful increases of 21kW/38Nm over the last car’s 2.0-litre engine.

Gone are the original 86 GT’s 6.5-inch wide 16-inch alloys; the GR86 GT now gets handsome 17-inch alloy wheels and LED headlights standard. 

The 8.0-inch touchscreen now features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, while the base car gets cloth upholstery and manually adjustable seats. 

Inside the up-spec GTS is slightly more differentiated than the two grades of BRZ, with suedecloth upholstery and aluminium pedals inside and 18-inch alloy wheels sprayed in matte black outside. 

Like the Subaru BRZ, the Toyota GR86 only gets a full safety complement when fitted with the revised six-speed automatic. This means manual owners miss out on AEB, low-speed manoeuvre braking and lane-departure warning. 

Toyota will release pricing of the new GR86 next month, with the new sports car likely to command between $36-38K for the base GT, and $41-44K for flagship GTS.