From 9-11th July, thousands of spectators watched the world debut of the new Toyota GR 86 coupe at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The latest model to join Toyota’s elite range of GR performance cars was showcased for the first time on the famous hill climb course at Goodwood House in West Sussex, along with its sister models, the GR Yaris and the exclusive GR Supra Jarama Racetrack Edition.
The Toyota GR 86 will be a successor to the multi-award-winning GT86 and will launch in 2022. It will build on the qualities that distinguished the GT86, keeping the classic front-engine/rear-wheel drive. It will benefit from a larger, more powerful 2.4-litre horizontally opposed “boxer” four-cylinder engine and will gain an almost 50% increase in torsional rigidity. This means that although its dimensions will be almost the same, it will have sharper handling and steering.
Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s international motorsports operation, was also at Goodwood, with British Touring Car Championship stars Rory Butcher and Sam Smelt behind the Speedworks Motorsport-prepared BTCC Corolla wheel. Spectators also witnessed the debut for the BTCC’s Corolla hybrid development car, also prepared by Speedworks in their role as the official testing partner for the new powertrain technology that the championship is due to adopt from 2022.