FastFleet
I’m underno illusionsthattheGT86 is perfect.
Nordid thetweaks to ourBlueEditionwithits
Performance Pack – great colour, Brembos, Sachs
dampers andall – fix all theToyota’s foibles,
thoughit’s undoubtedly thebest GT86 I’ve driven
as a resultof those changes.
Brake feel, for instance, was excellent. As was
endurance: theGT86 was my steedfor anevo
trackeveningat theBedford Autodrome,whichis
notoriouslytoughon brakes, andthepedal was as
firmat theendof thesession as it was at thestart.
It’s fair to saythestoppers weren’t undulytaxed by
speed given the86’s relatively low power output,
butnordid I go easy on them.
Thatoutingalso highlighted how beautifully
balanced theGT86 is. It was apparenton theroad
too, butwhere thelow-gripMichelinPrimacy tyres
resulted in occasionalmoments of unease on the
road, failingto gripquite as tenaciouslyas you’d hope
they might, you pushed rightthroughthaton the
more consistent surface of a track.In fact, thetyres
served up reasonablegripon a circuit, buttheway you
could adjust thecar’s balance withtiny movements
of thethrottle andsteering,getting it dancingaround
on its tiptoes, was its real strength. As rain drew
in, someof theunpredictability andunsteadiness
returned, butin thedry it was a joy.
ButI’d still change thetyres. Thisis a road car first
andforemost, andonebetter thanever as Toyota
(and Subaru)have tweaked it here andthere. Those
Sachsdampers broughtexcellentbodycontrol but
also more compliance thanI remembered frompast
GT86s.It was fairly quiet at speed, andthesculpted
seats were as comfortableas they were supportive.
It was also astonishinglyfrugal whenyou weren’t
on a qualifyinglap. A figure of 40mpg-pluswas the
APANESE CAR COMPANIES SEEMTO
like to stringouttheirdevelopment
programmes. From ourfirst glimpse of the
Toyota FT-1 conceptto drivingtheproductionSupra
took more thanfive years. TheHondaNSX took even
longer – Hondafirst announced its intentionto build
a new supercar back in 2007, nineyears before we
sampled thefinished article.
Andthenthere’s theToyota GT86. Thewait
between theFT-86conceptemergingin late 2009
andthefirst press drives in early 2012seemed
interminable– particularlywhentheidea of a new
lightweight, front-engined, rear-driven sports car at
a sensibleprice was like weapons-gradecatnip. It
would be later still before I eventuallydroveone,and,
as it turnsout, a full nineyears after first poringover
theFT-86in magazines thatI hadoneI could call my
own – albeitfor a crushinglybrief six months.
J
It may currently be overshadowed by Toyota’s new GR Supra, but the considerably cheaper
GT86 still has its place. And with more torque and decent tyres it could be even better
ToyotaGT86ClubSeriesBlueEdition
Endofterm