MRT Performance 86 Project 2013 Review

If you’re one of the many who’ve been hoping for an 86 with a little more pepper, then this could be the answer to your prayers.

It’s called the 86 Project: a twin-charged (supercharged and turbocharged) version of Toyota’s tail-happy coupe. It’s put together right here in Oz and it goes like stink off a shovel.

Built as a collaboration between Sydney-based MRT Performance and Adelaide’s ROH Wheels, the potent package increases the Subaru-Toyota 2.0-litre horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine’s outputs from 147kW and 205Nm to a respectable 184kW and 310Nm.

The modified 86’s spec sheet reads like a part list from the local performance shop, and in true Fast and Furious style, the shopping list is printed down the door.

ROH and MRT enhanced just about every mechanical component of the 86 to deliver what they say is “the same exhilarating feeling, just with a little more punch”, which is quite possibly the understatement of the year.

The step-up in torque is immediately evident and, in combination with a six-button ceramic Xtreme race clutch, the Project 86 blitzes from standstill in a fury of exhaust growl and tyre smoke.

The revs pile on rapidly before a quick snap into second and the GFB Deceptor Pro II blow-off valve announces we’re ready to rev again.

The power delivery is relentless, there’s plenty of it and it’s completely predictable. Lay on the throttle gently and the 86’s wiry tail drives it out of corners quickly. Get carried away and it’s an instant drift machine. It seems the tuning work from the EcuTeK ECU flash is as friendly as it is fast.

The suspension is tricked up to make the 86 as aggressive as you like, and at the settings dialled in for our test drive this meant as aggressive as it gets.

The ride is firm -- really firm -- and made even small potholes and ridges in the road surface look ominous. But find a smooth stretch of road and Project 86 comes alive.

MRT used Whiteline adjustable sway bars and Pedders SportsRyder eXtreme XA adjustable coil-overs to exact the maximum adjustability from the 86.

It’s made the turn-in really rapid and the tail a little edgy. In fact, set the way it is, we reckon the 86 Project would be a handful in the wet. Even in the dry the stability control light was like a strobe during corner exits.

There is a mountain of grip to be had if you drive it right and the Kumho Ecsta le Sport KU39 rubber wrapped around ROH Arrow alloys communicate that grip brilliantly.

The tyres are a shedload better than the Prius tyres fitted to the regular 86, though the larger 18-inch hoops have robbed any last bit of pliability that might have been left.

But besides its grip and torque, the most impressive element of the 86 Project has to be its sense of occasion. The subtle whine of the Bullet/Sprintex twin-scroll supercharger as it leads proceedings, the whoosh of the AVO turbocharger building and the whip crack from the Exhaust Technology JunBL cat-back pipes when you down-change under brakes is intoxicating – and draws more than its fair share of attention, we might add.

Halting the worked-over 86 is a cinch thanks to an upgraded AP Racing/DBA rotor brake package, and in spite of the muscle the calipers offer, it’s amazing how well-modulated the pedal is. The 86 Project is as easy to soft-stop as any small hatch. No excuses for short stopping here!

A couple of hours with the 86 Project isn’t nearly enough. It’s one of those cars that grows on you quickly and tells you how it wants to be driven in no uncertain terms.

While the boys at MRT say this is one for the road, we reckon you’d have to be pretty careful not to get carried away. The temptation is just too great and the car too good to not drive at its limits.

But more than that, the assortment of parts that make the 86 Project so damn entertaining prove what Toyota set out to achieve with the 86 in the first place: a car that the average guy can tune to his own tastes, as hard or soft as they may be. And it’s great to see the chassis can handle it!

If you want that extra kick, it’s there to be had, and the 86 Project proves that all you need to do is crack out the credit card and put in the wrench time. You’ll be mighty glad you did.