Turbo power for next Toyota GR 86

The third-generation Toyota GR 86 and Subaru BRZ rear-drive sports coupe twins will finally get turbocharged engines from the factory – and dump Subaru boxer power – when they arrive in the latter half of this decade.

That’s the word out of Japan just months after the launch of the second-generation Toyota (GR) 86 and, according to sources at Toyota that Best Car spoke to, the next-gen Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR 86 will get a development of the GR Yaris hot hatch’s 1.6-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder engine.

That powerplant currently bangs out between 200kW and 221kW and 370Nm of torque depending on the application.

And there’s a twist.

According to the Japanese outlet it’ll be hybridised as well, with claims of up to 245kW of power.

If the report holds water, it would represent a massive jump on the outputs of the current cars’ non-turbo 2.4-litre boxer engine (174kW/250Nm) and would almost certainly top-spec, track-ready Toyota GRMN 86 and Subaru BRZ STI nameplates.

The media reports from Japan also strongly suggest the Toyota Supra won’t be renewed beyond 2025 (instead it’s likely to be replaced by an electric sports car), meaning a tyre-shredding Toyota GRMN 86 with 245kW and a lower kerb weight would effectively replace the BMW-bred sports car.

These hard-core GRMN 86 and Subaru BRZ STI models would change the nature and appeal of the budget sports cars, although it’s almost certain that entry-level variants will still be offered but perhaps with lower-output powertrains.

As the reports infer, the new ‘dual boost’ hybrid system developed for the new Toyota Crown (which is headed to the USA and Japan, but not Australia) may be employed for the next-gen Toyota GR 86, the electric motor in which has a direct connection to the wheels to deliver instant torque and big-ticket acceleration.

Via translation software, Best Car says “…the next GR86 is currently at the stage where the basic framework has been decided. A testbed with a power unit mounted on the chassis has been completed, and full-scale testing is about to begin.”

Automatic and manual transmission will be on offer for the new rear-drive coupes.

The reports claim the changes for the next-generation Japanese sports cars may go beyond switching from boxer engines to inline engines (potentially due to the inability of Subaru’s boxer engines to meet impending emissions regulations), with Toyota taking over chassis and platform development from Subaru.

If this occurs, it begs the question – will the ‘Toyobaru’ congenital twins be split up, potentially ending the life of one of them – almost certainly the Subaru BRZ?

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