One of the last bastions of affordable performance, the GR86 entered its second generation last year with a bigger engine bringing slightly more power. However, many enthusiasts still believe Toyota should've slapped a turbocharger to significantly hike output and unlock the full potential of the sports car's platform. Well, the Gazoo Racing-branded coupe has now been blessed with forced induction, but don't get too excited just yet.
Australian magazine CarSales has learned from Toyota that a GR86 with a turbo has been built. The engine in question is the same three-cylinder 1.6-liter unit found in the GR Yaris and GR Corolla hot hatches. In the latter, it's good for a healthy 300 hp and 295 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque if you step up to the two-seat Morizo Edition. Applying these output figures to the GR86 would give it a substantial boost of 72 hp and 111 lb-ft (150 Nm).
2023 Toyota GR86 Special Edition
However, the spicy coupe was engineered as a testbed to help Toyota further develop synthetic fuels. As a refresher, both the GR Yaris and GR Corolla have already been modified to run on what we hope will eventually save the combustion engine from extinction. There is a glimmer of hope a turbocharged GR86 will be sold one day. Asked by CarSales whether there's a chance, Gazoo Racing's chief engineer Naoyuki Sakamoto answered:
"Yes, we are thinking for the future about the possibility of using it, but there are no concrete plans at the moment. For now, we're just using it to develop carbon-neutral fuels."
Meanwhile, Sakamoto announced the GR86 equipped with the G16E-GTS engine will be evaluated in Japan's Super Taikyu race series. It would make sense for a potential production version to carry the GRMN badge and slot above the GR version, but we may be getting ahead of ourselves. After all, we're still patiently waiting for those rumors about a GRMN Supra to pan out, but at least there's now the GR Corolla for the US.
Lest we forget a GR Super Sport hypercar and an electric successor of the Lexus LFA are both in the works, along with a small Toyota-badged electric sports car that was teased at the end of last year. Add into the mix a manual gearbox for the Supra, the Japanese automaker is aiming to please enthusiasts.
