New Toyota GR 86 price to increase

The Toyota 86 may lose its status as Australia’s most affordable sports car when the more powerful and bigger-engined second-generation model launches Down Under in the first half of 2022.

Pricing in the US was announced today, which sees the 173kW 2.4-litre Toyota GR 86 (with six-speed manual) open the bidding at $US27,700 ($A36,920).

That is only $US640 more than current equivalent model in the US, but Australian sources have indicated to carsales that the new 2022 Toyota GR 86 may not be as “uber-affordable” here as the first generation.

“It’s too early to talk about pricing,” our source said of the incoming GR 86, cautioning that the entry-level price will depend on global demand, the Australian allocation and the spec levels offered to our market.

Pricing in Japan has also been announced, with a new bare-bones RC model priced at ¥2,799,000, which is about $A32,830.

However, there’s no guarantee Toyota will offer such a price-leading model in Australia, and the company may not be in a position to undercut – to any serious extent, at least – the opening marker for its twin-under-the-skin Subaru BRZ, which arrives in January priced from $38,990 plus ORCs.

At entry level, the first-gen Toyota 86 was most recently a $31,180 plus ORCs proposition for the six-speed manual, making it the most cost-effective way to get into a rear-drive sports car in Australia.

It undercut the iconic Mazda MX-5 ($36,090) by around $5000, but its title as Australia’s most affordable rear-drive sports car could now be in doubt.

Originally set to launch in Australia this year, the second-gen Toyota GR 86 has been delayed and may not arrive until late in the second quarter of 2022 due to the global micro-processor shortage.

Based on the same platform as the first-gen Toyota 86, which is all but sold out with no more shipments coming, the new GR 86 gets a bigger 2.4-litre four-cylinder boxer engine that cranks out 173kW/250Nm (+23kW/35Nm).

Again offered with six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions, Toyota reckons the  1270kg GR 86’s 0-100km/h sprint takes 6.3 seconds, down from 7.4 seconds.

Other changes to the new Toyota GR 86 include upgrades to the suspension and brakes, the inclusion of new aluminium parts – such as the roof and fenders – as part of a new exterior design, and an updated interior with new seats and a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster.

Australia remains an important market for the 86, and the third largest globally after the US and Japan.

More than 20,800 Toyota 86 sports cars have been sold in Australia since launch in 2012, accounting for around 10 per cent of the circa-200,000 global sales.