Posted: 18/07/2018
Toyota has forever been known for their incomparably ruthless four-wheel-drive such as the LandCruiser; their unbreakable utilities such as the HiLux; the perfect sedans such as the Camry; and of course, the worlds best selling vehicle the Corolla that has proven to be unstoppable. Toyota has mastered most categories in motor vehicles, however, Toyota isn’t commonly thought of as a leader in the sports car category. But wait until you hear the exciting history of the Toyota 86.
History of the Toyota 86
The 86 is the newest in a extensive line of exciting Toyota sports cars that started with the rear-wheel drive Sports 800, continued with the 2000GT and followed by the AE86 - still a favourite with track racers everywhere.
Toyota Sports 800
Firstly, the history of the Toyota 86 goes back to April 1965 when the Toyota Sports 800 was officially launched as a small, sporty coupe in Japan as Toyota Motor Corporation’s first ever production sports car! The Toyota Sport 800 only had 3,131 units built in its short four-year production lifespan 1965-1969 and most remained in Japan where it was successful in motorsport races clocking speeds at over 99 MPH. Due to its sporty performance and appearance, the Toyota Sports 800 was a popular vehicle amongst younger drivers in Japan. Now 50 years on, the surviving Toyota Sports 800 models are considered a motorsports collectible.
2000GT
Next, came the Toyota 2000GT which was considered to be the vehicle that pushed Toyota's sports cars to a world level and put Japan on the automotive map for innovative high-performance sports cars. The 2000GT was a hardtop coupé grand tourer that was in production between 1967 and 1970 in collaboration with Yamaha. Its body featured smooth bodywork; pop-up headlights and large plexiglass covered driving lamps that were close to the grille comparable to the Toyota Sports 800. The 2000GT was so popular that it appeared in the James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, starring Sean Connery. The 2000GT is now considered a serious motor vehicle collectable with sales reaching over US 1 million dollars.
The 86 today
The Toyota 86 we know today started as a Scion FR-5 that was produced between 2013-2016. Scion is a discontinued brand of Toyota that originated in 2003 targeted at younger drivers and ceased production in 2016. In the second half of 2016 the Scion FR-5 became was rebranded as the Toyota 86. Both Toyota and Subaru developed the 86, though Subaru is the sole manufacturer who has their own version called the Subaru BRZ. The Toyota 86 is now a four seater sports car with a fastback coupe body style that still features boxer engine, front engine and rear wheel drive. It also has the same shaped back window as the 2000GT. The Toyota 86 reaches an impressing 60MPH in just 6.2 seconds. The interior includes a driver-focused cockpit, sports seats and driver support and a small dimension sports steering wheel to give you a real race car experience.
Toyota 86 on the Sunshine Coast
We love bringing the thrill into our 86 owner’s lives. If you would like to chat to one of our team about becoming a Toyota 86 owner simply follow this link to test-drive today. If you would like to check out Sunshine Toyota’s current 86 deals click here.