Toyota 86 facelift boasts power hike and sharper handling

The highly successful Toyota 86 sports coupe is set to continue its sales dominant with the launch of the facelifted model in Australia today.

Promising even better driving enjoyment, the new 2017 Toyota 86 has been further perfected by applying feedback from extensive racetrack experience, including from the world’s toughest endurance race.

Driving characteristics have been revamped with better engine breathing that releases more power and torque for manual models along with across-the-board updates to suspension and body rigidity that promote improved handling.

Toyota has also focused on design updates that advance the aerodynamics, steering stability and the driver’s sense of being connected to the vehicle which is renowned for its ideally balanced front-engine, rear-drive layout.

Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada said his team applied information learned from the racetrack to develop the upgraded 86 sports car, including data obtained from class victories at the famous 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

“We overhauled everything – primarily as a result of technological feedback from the 86’s participation in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring – and repeatedly tested the vehicle on roads all over the world as we manufactured every single part,” Mr Tada said.

“The new 86 has been perfected to such an extent that, from the moment the steering wheel is gripped and the vehicle accelerates away, every driver will be able to recognise its evolution,” he said.

For the revamp, engineers have revised engine components including the intake and exhaust manifolds for the six-speed manual models, lifting maximum power and torque by 3.4 per cent to 152kW and 212Nm.

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer engine’s increased torque peak can be generated over a 200rpm wider range of engine speeds, from 6400 to 6800rpm. The torque curve has also been improved at low rpms.

All models are said to deliver sharper steering response and improved ride comfort with additional spot welds for the rear pillars and reworked shock absorber valve structures.

Aesthetically, the new 86 is lower at the front and features nose fins, foglamp bezel fins and small canards or wing-like projections beneath the wider front grille for improved aerodynamics. LED headlamps complete the front make-over.

Newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels now have twisted spokes, machine-cut highlights and gun-metallic paint, while the 86 logo has shifted to a stand-alone badge on the front fender.

At the rear, an available wing-type rear spoiler contributes to aerodynamic performance while the lower diffuser of the bumper has been widened for a commanding on-road stance. Reshaped rear combination lamps now utilise LEDs.

Inside, the 86 is equipped with a sportier steering wheel – its 362mm diameter makes it the smallest ever used in a Toyota. The cross-sectional shape is said to provide better grip, manoeuvrability and comfort.

The revised tachometer is arranged so that 7,000rpm is viewed at the very top – the engine speed around which the vehicle generates maximum output.

Driver aids include a new 4.2-inch colour LCD located next to the tachometer that conveys a wide range of information including, in real-time, a G-force meter and power and torque curves.

The instrument panel and door trim can be specified with Grand Luxe, a high-quality suede-like material in black, that limits glare.

The new Toyota 86 goes on sale in Australia in the fourth quarter of this year. Full pricing and specification will be announced closer to launch.