Reports from Japan say Toyota will use the same turbo three-cylinder engine as the GR Yaris and GR Corolla.
The sports car could also move to the same platform as the new Lexus IS.
It isn’t clear if Subaru will follow suit with the BRZ.
Many have speculated about the next generation of the Toyota GR86 sports car, but new reports from Japan seem to confirm one of the rumours.
Indeed, Japanese Magazine X and Best Car have both claimed that the future GR86 will use the same turbocharged three-cylinder engine as the GR Yaris and the GR Corolla.
This could address one of the main complaints enthusiasts have had against the car since its introduction as the Scion FRS back in 2013, namely: a lack of power.
As used in the GR Corolla, this 1,6L engine delivers 300 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque, a marked increase from the Subaru-sourced Boxer 4 cylinder used in the current GR86 that outputs 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque.
2022 Toyota GR86 Premium | Photo: Matt St-Pierre
Modifications to the engine will be needed in order to adapt it to the car’s rear-wheel drive setup, but Toyota is likely to keep changes to a minimum in order to keep development and production costs low.
One change that could make it to market, however, is the addition of an electrified component, but it is still too early to tell if this will be a traditional hybrid setup or a mild-hybrid system.
Reports of this engine being chosen for the new GR86 also give credibility to another report from Best Car that says Toyota will use a modified version of the platform found under the current Lexus IS.
This makes sense considering that reworking the Subaru-developed platform in order to accommodate an inline engine would be very expensive and complicated due to the inherent difference in shape between the new engine and the current flat-four.
All of these expected changes bring questions about Subaru’s involvement in the project, with sources claiming the automaker will abandon the BRZ and others saying they will adopt Toyota’s engine and platform.
We might have to wait quite a while still for these answers since the most optimistic reports place the launch of the next GR86 in 2025 while others don’t expect to see it on the road before 2028.
Source: Carsguide
