Understated Power, Unmatched Balance: Why the GT86 is more than just Power

"The real beauty of the GT86 lies in its ability to engage the driver, regardless of how fast it goes" 

    - Evo Magazine

The 86 is notoriously slow and underpowered. The car was never designed to be put on a drag strip - probably why Toyota okayed Subaru making the engine... But in all fairness I ask the same question myself, why didn't Toyota create the platform with more power?

The simple answer is, Toyota didn't make the power plant. They outsourced most of the engine development to Subaru in their joint development venture to reduce costs. But, Toyota did lead the project and even have publicly stated they were opposed to forced induction to maintain a near perfect weight balance - suggesting Toyota would've had the final say in engine production and could've demanded more power out of Subaru's platform. 

But they didn't.

Instead Toyota chose to prioritise weight and balance. It could be argued that to truly understand Toyota's motivation in the priorities behind the design and engineering put into the development of this platform, a historical perspective should be taken rather than a purely financially statistical one. 

The name 'GT86' or 'Haci-Roku' (this meaning 'eight-six' in Japanese) is a nod to two of Toyota's most legendary models - the 5th Gen Corolla AE86 and the 2000GT, Toyota's first ever sports car. 

Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno - Debuted in 1985
*Difference between Corolla Levin GT models and Sprinter Trueno models was fixed versus retractable headlights respectively.

Toyota 2000GT - Debuted in 1965

Toyota took the 'GT' out of the '2000GT', as a nod to their first ever original sports car and to celebrate them once again making "fun" cars - as they hadn't produced any sports cars since the Supra MKIV and 3rd Gen MR2 with production coming to a halt in 2004 and 2007 respectively. The '86' part of the name is a reference to the AE86 as the GT86 is considered to be the spiritual successor of the AE86 due to it's similar nature in its features: an underpowered engine that inspires confidence, near perfect weight balance and just the same overall fun, controllable nature the driving experience has to offer. 

Well then, what makes the driving experience so 'fun' through prioritising weight and balance over raw power?

Chris Harris said, "The GT86 isn't about speed; it's about how it makes you feel while driving" - and after watching Chris drive it, I think the feeling he felt could only be described as giddy.

Said Giddy Chris:

In the video above, Chris himself states the chassis makes the balance of the car very well balanced and neutral with a little bit of safety understeer but goes on to say its not much as the car naturally wants to go into oversteer. Furthermore, at 7:35" Chris states, "and that in chassis engineering terms, it's very gutsy and I really applaud them for that... (inaudible commentary due to tyre screech) ...it's not about safety margins its about fun". 

Furthermore Toyota very oddly chose to equip the same low rolling resistance tyres as the contemporary Prius. 

These tyres combined with the near perfect weight balance and underpowered nature of the car allows the driver to accessibly play with the balance of pure pace and over-steer. The limits of grip can be broken at low and safe speeds providing an extremely fun and confident inspiring style of driving. 

Coming back to the infamous fact of the 86 being "underpowered" and "slow". It was, but it was also perfectly balanced in both weight and power and exactly what Toyota intended it to be. Successfully  continuing the legacy of the 86 and bringing back the production of "fun" cars that made Toyota. This all aligned with Toyota's 2011 Japanese campaign - "Fun to Drive, Again"; seeing the delivery of first sold GT86s in April 2012.

Mr Toyoda, the then CEO of Toyota; ignited the 2011 'Fun to Drive, Again' campaign, famously stating "If it's not fun to drive, it's not a car". Having been made CEO in 2009 Mr Toyoda was extremely successful in his campaign, being named Autocar's Man of the Year in 2012, after creating what was and arguably still is the most fun accessible car in the market. 

The GT86 offers a refreshing antidote to a market obsessed with horsepower and acceleration, focusing instead on weight, balance and pure driving experience. 

In my next blog post I will discuss how Toyota incorporated specific engineering intricacies in chassis development, weight distribution and suspension design and geometry to create this masterpiece.