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Toyota FT-86 finally debuts as GT 86

Toyota FT-86 finally debuts as GT 86

by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury. November 27, 2011.


The much-hyped Toyota FT-86 has finally been revealed, except that the marketeers have decided to rename the production version as the Toyota GT 86, after spending millions marketing the FT-86 name. Toyota’s new GT 86, with its name derived from the AE86-code Toyota Corolla GT-S of the 1980s, makes its world debut at the Tokyo Motor Show on November 30. The compact 2+2 model will go on sale in Europe in June 2012, but is also slated to come to the Middle East. Incidentally, it will be known in Japan as the Toyota Hachiroku, which translates to simply Toyota 86.

The 2013 Toyota GT 86 was a joint development with Subaru, who will have their own nearly-identical version, and thus will be powered by a Subaru-supplied 2.0-litre “boxer” 4-cylinder engine. The motor is good for 197 hp at 7,000 rpm and maximum torque of 205 Nm at 6,600 rpm. Apparently they were trying to emulate Honda Type-R cars and their driving “purity” and ended up with output similar to what Honda already managed a decade ago.

Toyota claims the GT 86 also has the “world’s most compact four-seat design” to create a car that “benefits from light weight, low inertia and a low centre of gravity to achieve the best possible power-to-weight ratio.” The car has a 53:47 front-to-rear weight distribution. The GT 86 measures 4,240 mm long, 1,285 mm high and 2,570 mm wide, dimensions which supposedly make it the most compact four-seater sports car available today, much smaller than a Hyundai Genesis but slightly larger than a Mazda MX-5 Miata.

We expect the rear seats to be useless though, and the interior, while somewhat pretty in the pictures, probably consists of hard plastics to bring down the price.

The GT 86 is described as “light” but the official figure remains to be seen. The suspension features MacPherson struts at the front and double wishbones at the rear. The car rides on 17-inch wheels and is fitted with ventilated disc brakes fore and aft. There is a choice of 6-speed manual or automatic transmissions. A limited-slip differential is standard, while ABS and switchable vehicle stability control systems have been tuned specifically to minimise electronic intervention.

The FT-86 was originally touted to be an affordable sports car, but we estimate the pricing for the Japanese-built GT 86 to be around Dhs 120,000 when it debuts in the UAE, possibly a little cheaper in Oman and Saudi Arabia. At the price, a trio of American RWD muscle-cars, a couple of Japanese FWD coupes, a Korean RWD contender can be had, all V6-powered and larger. While the GT 86 will likely offer a better driving experience, it remains to be seen how well it lives up to its hype in the real-world market.

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Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury

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Comments

  1. you forgot to mention is it RWD or AWD.
    thanx 🙂 and will the suburu version come to the middle east??

  2. Can’t find any reason to go for this instead of a Mustang

    • Yes. The cost is almost close to a standard Mustang, but in the Mustang you get a juicy 3.7L V6, more space, better looks – this looks like a PS game of some sort -, and more power.

      Not only can you go for the Mustang, but also the Camaro.

      But hey, how well build are American cars? Japanese cars deserve to be more expensive because they are put together better!

    • I think this car handles and drives much better than a mustang.. It is finely tuned to be a driver’s car, that impresses on corners. Thats a good enough reason for me to favor it over a mustang…

    • It is a pity, that it still got so expensive. I just love the idea.
      Still – it would be a better drive than the Mustang; and please don’t forget, that there something like the environment! The Mustang is just consuming more fuel as a tank – smaller engine – more fun to drive… and a lot to customize… this is the idea of this car – and this idea sounds great!

    • @ROJ
      well, if you THINK that this will handle better etc than a mustang then go for it.

      Me thinks that you are judging something base on assumptions.

  3. ^RWD.

    Mustangs and Camaros definitely dominating the market at the moment. But the Toyota badge and IF Futtaim price it decent, it should be able to match the Americans. Also the auto-gearbox should rope in more customers.

  4. what a cheap interior!

  5. not upto the expectations….not worth spending anything above 95,000…

  6. surely Mx 5 miata and genesis coupe is far better than this…

  7. Looks nice….. Would be better if were a diffrent colour. I like the interior being simple, as it is a good way of keeping the weight down. This is supposed to be a drivers car not a luxury car.

    You pay hundreds of thousand for super cars that dont even have radios in them or A/C.

    This car is for driving, not cruising down some strip with huge amounts of BASS pumping from it.

    I like it but would have liked the lights of the concept 2 more than the current.

  8. Complete Disappointment.. Looks very Toyota ! 🙂

  9. Its a shame that boy racers and ricers would buy such a car.. Lets just hope that it sells for a Maximum of 120K..

    This might be my next car in the near future..

  10. Is there anybody tell me what happen to recently launched “TOYOTA ZELAS” ?? I know its slow moving car in Al Futtaim but does this model will replace it??

  11. Heres a youtube video featuring driving scenes of the GT86:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJwwUQU_GZw

  12. Heres a sharp review of the car:

    http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/11/finally-ttac-gets-its-hands-on-the-ft86-and-its-chief-engineer/

  13. What are you talking about, all forums in US and europe are saying if it is priced over 20K $ nobody will buy it, which means something around 75000, let us say they mean the base model, so this car should not go beyond 90-95K any way, otherwise nobody will buy it, ok we agree it is a driver car that gives very good driving experience but if it is priced at 120K as you say, all will go for many other choices like genesis, V6 mustang and camaro, golf gti, sirocco and many other alternatives

  14. Okay, this is such a lame piece of news.

    Do you people know anything about cars? How could you possibly compare this to a Type-R or any American muscle car? How silly do you have to be to compare a RWD to a FWD? Agreed, they share similar horsepower numbers, but seriously?

    Also, if you’re really going to compare it to a Type R, then why don’t you compare it with the Subaru version of it? If you had done your homework, you’d know they’re introducing a turbo-charged model is 2013. They have hardly any similarities for gods sake. What do the two cars have in common apart from HP and 2 doors? A Type-R uses Double wishbone, compared to Toyota/Subies Mcpherson. Complete different layout too for the love of god. Besides, do they even make LHD Type Rs? No? Yeah, nice job with the comparison then.

    And comparing it to American muscle, really? Do you even know what kind of people were considered when the GT-86 was being designed? There is nothing you can compare this car to, except maybe an MX-5, but that too is much different, being a roadster.

    You should only buy it if you can respect the feeling of driving that was lost years ago, now felt only slightly in the MX-5. Or if you just enjoy cruising or track racing.

    Otherwise, I suggest you all to buy and rice out Civics, or shell out $4000 more for a Challenger, and encourage manufacturers to let electrics take over the joy of driving.

    Oh… And before you comment on the interior, maybe look at pictures of the actual production models, because they’re already out there. It’s Toyota we’re talking about, not Dodge or any other brand that’ll replace components with existing ones to reduce costs.

    I feel really sorry for other people who read this website, I wonder how terribly misinformed they must be. How dumb are you people? You get paid to write this garbage?

  15. now they’re calling this sports car? 2.0 w/ 197hp? It will just eat dust w/ the EVO 2.0 at 300++hp. This car is disappointing.

  16. The 86 has potential .. but they ought to widen those rear wheels:
    http://www.carthrottle.com/toyota-gt-86-officially-revealed/gt86-10/

    • Well balanced from the factory, lets leave it for the enthusiasts to modify it as appropriate..

      Though direct injection engines wont come here & i fear the whole car wont be sold here because of that..

  17. @ ROJ,

    I’m glad atleast someone gets it. And yes, I did go heavy on the aggression, my apologies to all those who found it offensive.

    @ Dhoom, calling me a pathetic fanboy, eh? Guess what, when the 2014 seasons start, all F1 cars will be running 1.6L V6 engines. Does that mean they won’t be fast anymore? No, they’ll still
    continue to do 370Ks down Monza. 197 HP is what Toyota gives you, they’ve given you the room to do all sorts of modifications if that’s your thing. Or even complete engine swaps because they’ve minimized computer use.

    Although I do not like the fact that it’ll suck air through an electric throttle, I guess we’ll have to live with it.

    @ Vans, yes, that’s why they’re calling it a SPORTS car, and not a super car…

  18. Dear Abdul,

    If you feel sorry for the people who visit this site; then why you are reading it?

    I encourage you to leave it for us the missinformed; and stop adding your comments here.

  19. I hope this car marks the stage of the beginning of the extinction of ricers…

  20. @ Hassan, I posted something, I’m going to reply to people who reply to it. I feel sorry for people who read this stuff and learn something which isn’t true, I however, happen to know better.

    @ ROJ, I think they’ll actually grow in numbers now. It’s affordable, tuneable, which means it riceable. Can’t win ’em all, huh? =P

  21. Damn they are fighting for 120k price tag and thinking what will sell, rice,wheat, banana or muscle car, here everybody is buying fully loaded Pajero’s for 100k, now Pajero has nothing to do with mustang or fun to drive cars or coupes, yes people do think when they spend money and compare different cars randomly. If a fully loaded Yaris is 55000, then people will definetly buy fully loaded Accent for 50K, now either you can sit and compare dumbly or think what is practical.

    • FYI (for your information):

      RICE is short for “Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhancements”.. RICE-r is a term used to refer to those school kids that dont understand anything about cars & spend all their money installing silly body-kits, neon-kits, sound-systems & cheap rims hoping their car will ‘look’ as fast as a supra or skyline.. They are attention whores that drive their stupidly modified Nissan Sunnys with fake air-filter & cheap exhaust pipe along with some stickers on the body like they are Ferraris & overtake traffic thinking they are racing..

      These people dont know anything or have any respect about car mechanics, performance or culture.. They drive around on the streets thinking its like Fast & Furious or Need for Speed.. They dont know how to drive properly & they only modify their slow cars to look fast..
      Their arguments are focused on invalid or illogical ideas, like saying that the fact one car has more horse-powers than another makes it a better vehicle.

      Well this car is not engineered or designed for these people. This car is designed for the driving & car enthusiast that wants to use this car to go to work on the week-days and go to the race-track on the weekends or the nice curvy mountain roads (not race on the streets). A car enthusiast doesnt judge a car until he/she drives it and finds it suitable for their ‘performance’ needs; they also understand why a car is under/over-powered. A ricer does not understand that because he/she is living in a fantasy of floppy body-kits & fake exhaust pipes just to impress people.

      If I tell RICER the below, they might not understand or appreciate what they hear:
      “Now this FT-86 might have 200 horsepowers but it has a weight ratio of 53:47 & weights below 1200kgs and does not have too much power/weight that an avg driver cannot control without any computer aids. This means this car potentially handles and drives well on corners as much as it decently accelerates in a straight line with balance & control. Not to forget the fact it is designed to be mechanically simple, hence providing a natural driving experience that many people of this generation rarely experienced. Car Enthusiasts look for these qualities when they buy sports cars.. Simple, light, well-balanced & affordable sports car.”

      Finally, the average consumer might hate the car or find it un-interesting as the avg consumer looks for space, technology, style, luxuries, etc in a car. Something that this car does not offer.. & such qualities are of no interest for an enthusiast as they need a car only to serve the purpose of being a good driver’s car.. That is why car enthusiasts love this car over other models with more HP, space, style, technology, luxuries, etc..

      I hope and pray that such statement enlightens some people & makes them understand also why many people actually loved and appreciated cars of the past over the current more modern & refined ones..

      I should write a book..

    • Thank you ROJ, I’m so glad that I’m not the only one here who thinks like that.

      I hate to admit it, but ricers aren’t going away anytime soon, or the people that compare Pajero’s to FT-86s.Agreed, being practical is one thing, but what the hell…

      This is the only reason why such cars are missing in the market, the reason why the Honda S2K was made extinct, and so was the RX-8. Toyota has taken a huge risk with this, and if Celica, Scion TC, and other such cars made it so far, surely this will too! I don’t know of any other car that has caused such a large stir on the internet!

    • Thanks.. I honestly didnt know the difference between RICE and a wannabe RICE-r but Vishal’s comment of ppl fighting over rice, wheat ..lol

    • Vishal’s comment made my day… RICE, WHEAT, CHICKEN, FATOOSH, FALAFIL..

  22. LoL on my comment itself. Excellent point @ROJ & Abdul, i now understand, what you try to explain, but i still feel sad, and am sure that above mentioned driver’s car stand very less chance against the current boring but practical cars. By the way you don’t need sunny’s and civics for fast and furious, that area is left to Toyota Hiace and Nissan UR vans fully loaded with 16 to 18 people doing 140 on emirates road and flashing people out of way.

  23. I could not resist this peice of news given by Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury about the Renaming, Toyota yes has renamed but that is only for Europe Market as GT86, and Toyota 86 for Asia Market and Scion FR-S in America. Sabaru Version called BR-Z will be sold everywhere as it is.

  24. under 100k, and I will buy this car
    under 120k, I think I would go for the Gti
    over 120l, hahaha @ Al-Futtaim!

  25. I think it not going to be like the orginal AE86 it more of a subaru than a toyota ae86. This car have a big burden to impress because the hikaroco is a culture icon of drift and I think people going to be disappointed if they compared it with old one. As people who are trying to compare it with American muscle and talk about it as if they own it, one sentence ” Once you have roaring V8 there is no going back.” I took the advice os Mash and bought a Lumina SS and man I not disappointed by it don’t know if the Aurion v6 should be similary price but glade I did take it.

  26. We have officially launched the first forum dedicated to the New Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ/Scion FRS and Toyota’s sports car heritage & history for the UAE.

    Kindly, visit, join, post & enjoy.
    http://www.toyota86uae.com/

    *admins, do let me know if this is not nettique-ish.

  27. Hey guys, I’m not starting a flaming war here
    I just want to straighten out some facts here before this car is even compared to anything in its price range…because that’s missing the point!….I am also NOT a Toyota sales guy…or a Subaru agent for that matter.

    We live in a world where majority of the people have to buy a car based on ‘numbers on a paper’ to justify its price.

    if you want the most “HP/COST”, this definitely isn’t the car for you.

    but what many so called ‘petrol-heads’ don’t realize is that the GT86/BRZ is meant to recapture the raw driving pleasure and tactile feel which is now lost in alot of cars including super-cars like the Mclaren MP4. of course now you must be saying “WTF…THE MCLAREN WILL **** THE GT86 IN EVERYTHING!!!”

    Again, this car is for drivers who enjoy driving.
    Rear wheel drive, Manual Transmission, Lightweight, low power (yes…sometimes that’s more fun when you actually use the steering wheel instead of just pointing it straight.)

    The only car you can compare is with is the Miata which is around the same price but only comes in Auto and had 160hp.

    sadly the market here would rather buy a 400hp 5.0 Mustang for the same price. not saying the mustang is a bad car.

    check out reviews of the GT86/BRZ first drives and they all say that this is the car they have been waiting for a long time.

    • I wish people actually know how to handle their 400hp mustang for a start.. Luckily they got all the driving aids they need to survive most of their driving errors. Modern cars have a very dumbed down driving experience that many drivers forgot how driving actually it when you are in full control and feel of the car..

      But Arnold, please allow me to tell you that you are talking to a wall.. Because many of these people you speak of are boy racers that think street racing, overtaking traffic and going fast in a straight line is real driving.. They even find motor-sports stupid..

      Thanks to fast n furious that raised a generation of mis-informed and ignorant enthusiasts that dont even know why they tune up their cars.

      The Toyota 86/ Subaru BRZ is a real sports car, a sports car where you will do all the driving effort and thinking.. And it is finely balanced to handle well on “corners” (thats if 1/2 of them know how to drive around a corner) along with a perfect power to weight ratio that wont send you crashing your new 86 into a wall..

      Haters, if you never went go karting, autocross or a trackdays.. Then dont come and tell us whats good and what sucks..

      Oh and street racing, bitch please, the UAE roads are all straight lines and traffic, you cannot prove shit..

      I am not a toyota sales guy aswell but I recommend you think about what is being told here before you reply with anger and hate..

  28. Well..this car has standard LSD, ABS and vehicle stability control systems..and guys here are talking about “pure driving thrill” which people once enjoyed from the AE86, while dissing the Mustang pony because it has “too many electronics”, which is also switchable by the way…has anyone driven the 2011 and onwards ‘Stang V8 manual with all driver aids off?? And talking about electronic aids, has anyone heard of a GT-R? or an Audi RS whatever?? anyone?

    I am not dissing this car..I have not even seen it..agreed that it belongs to a different league, and is destined to cater to a different set of buyers..I agree when people say that most folks belonging to the current generation does not know anything beyond driving with stability control on forever..But with that available as an option, isn’t this car partly aiming at that very same crowd?? And this is not the only car where the electronic nannies can be turned off..Mustangs can driven without any electronic intervention too (if you really know how to drive in the first place)..Mustang offers solid feedback from steering and controls..the live rear-axle may need to get a little used to..so what less are we talkin about here when compared to FT86?? These ponies have come a long way now to rival proper sports cars and are no more cars which can be driven through the twisties only after a prayer or two, and a “goodbye” ceremony. Hence, for the same kinda money, choosing betweeen the FT and a similarly priced, yet more powerful Stang would be tough. Both cars have a great heritage for themselves. I feel it will all boil down to other things like fuel-efficiency, after-market performance mods, simplicity etc.

    furthermore, from my understanding of what the writer meant when he said about a trio of muscle cars, a couple of fwd cars and a korean rwd contender, was that, this is NOT the ultimate sports car for everyone who has 120k to spare and wants a sports car. One should not go and buy the FT86 just because they have 120k to spare, or because this news appeared on DriveArabia, or just because it is a Toyota/Subaru. It is a matter of priority and what you “really” want at the end of the day from that special piece of machinery you intend to own.

    • The biggest argument here is not about the cars.. Its about how people think of the cars..

    • I have a friend who has the 5.0 Mustang. as I mentioned before, It’s one of the best valued sports cars you can get atm. and ford has come a long way in terms of taming that live-axle at the back.
      check out the video of the Mustang vs M3.Mustang lost, but by only .1 seconds on the track, shows how well they have tuned the chassis.

      Anyways getting back to the GT86/BRZ. although you cant compare the mustang to this ,its a different car. its like comparing a 500K AED Ranger Rover to a 500K Audi R8 V10. they have different purposes.
      if anyone has driven any boxer powered car like the Porsche 911,Cayman,all subaru’s (even the base 1.6L models) will feel that Very low center of gravity handling which they are known for. Since I own an STi and driven both the 911 and Mustang, the Mustang does not have that feel.
      The BRZ/GT86 has one of the lowest center of gravity of any car, the only 2 cars to have even lower COG is the Cayman R and the 911 GT3 RS.

      alot of R&D has gone into the chassis of the BRZ which is why it costs more for the power it has.
      But handling is very Underrated. 🙂

      and ROJ is right…end of the day its what the people want from their cars…and they can have it, as long as they don’t put down the car without getting the point of it.

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