Next Toyota 86 won't go turbo

If you were hoping for a cheap turbocharged rear-drive Toyota sports car, you may have to settle for a second-hand Supra.

That's because the second-generation 2021 Toyota 86 will almost certainly retain a naturally-aspirated boxer engine -- not a turbo flat-four as previously rumoured.

Despite countless requests for a forced-fed engine from a legion of 86 aficionados, the man developing the car and Toyota's chief sports car engineer, Tetsuya Tada, has always said that turbocharging would contradict the coupe's philosophy of low cost, low weight, responsive rear-drive fun.

Leaked details from a top-secret Toyota conference that revealed the arrival timing of the new Toyota 86 – mid-2021 – are holding water for now, but information suggesting the Subaru Outback's new 2.4-litre turbo boxer engine would be adopted for the all-new coupe now appear too good to be true.

Japanese website Best Car reports the new Toyota 86 and its twin, the Subaru BRZ, will make use of a naturally-aspirated version of the FA24 boxer engine instead.

According to the Japanese website, the new Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ will belt out around 160kW and 240Nm, but carsales understands this figure could be a little higher.

Either way, it will be more than the current car's 152kW/212Nm, but a lot less than the 190kW/375Nm of the turbo 2.4 in the Outback. However, unless the next 86 chunks on the weight, it should be a faster machine.

The latest intel from Japan also corroborates Tada's contention that the entry-level sports car's reason for being is its simplicity, throttle response and low cost, which could be negatively affected with a turbo.

"Turbo? Everyone wants it. There is merit and demerit to using turbo," he previously told carsales, saying a turbo is more of an "accessory" and that it doesn't necessarily adhere to the car's spirit.

"That’s the question I have been asked one thousand times," he said of a turbo 86, "but for me it’s a minor thing."

As well as making the next Toyota 86 more expensive, a turbocharged engine with around 190kW would also be within striking distance of the 192kW four-cylinder Toyota Supra.

The USA and Japan are the two biggest global markets for the Toyota 86 but Australia punches well above its weight as the third-biggest market for the car – one of the reason's Tada spends so much time here checking out modded 86s.

Toyota has shown off concepts for a convertible 86 and even a shooting brake 86 wagon, but next year's redesigned model is likely to remain a coupe. It's not yet clear whether the new exterior design will evolve the current 86 styling or get the wilder curves of the Toyota Supra -- or adopt the look of the 2017 Toyota GR HV Sports concept pictured here.

Expect to see a concept version of the all-new compact coupe -- likely to be badged as the Toyota GR 86 -- break cover by mid-2021, previewing the production car that's expected to land in Aussie showrooms from around 2022.