The Toyota 86 has a wildly popular heritage and if you’re into Japanese manga, you’ll definitely be familiar with the cult comic series Initial D. If, however, you’ve been living under a cultural rock, manga (not to be confused with that yellow juicy fruit encasing a hairy pip and a typo) are graphic novels which could vaguely be compared to superhero comics in the West. 

In the late 1990s, the manga craze exploded globally with the advent of the Pokémon (Pocket Monsters) anime series. A few years later, the street racing anime Initial D gained worldwide popularity.

In the series, the young hero, Takumi Fujiwara, moonlights as a delivery driver for his alcoholic father’s tofu shop. Takumi drives around in a GT Corolla coupé, also known as the AE86 which is widely regarded as the predecessor to the Toyota 86. The text on his car reads Fujiwara Tofu Ten, which translates into “Fujiwara Tofu Shop”. 

When Takumi’s not delivering bean curd, the young protagonist, who is somewhat of a loner, speeds around on mountain roads and hones his drifting skills. 

Takumi Fujiwara quickly became a cult hero among disenchanted Japanese youth, epitomising what were seen as the “Lost Decades”, referring to Japan’s economic downslide after a real estate bubble burst, starting in the early 1990s. 

Drifting scene

The iconic series, featuring the sporty rear-wheel drive Corolla also directly influenced the emerging drifting scene in Japan. From its comic book origins, Initial D soon had its own video series and was developed into a hugely popular arcade game. 

Now in 2022, with the global launch of its latest sports coupé in April, the Japanese motoring conglomerate has gone all the way in referencing Initial D in various international GR86 ads and marketing campaigns clearly aimed to attract a younger, manga-mad and drift-crazy clientele. 

At the national launch of the GR86 last week at the Aldo Scribante Race Circuit just outside Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, a bespoke art-worked version of Toyota’s sport coupé was on hand for all the racetrack activities, replete with its iconic Fujiwara Tofu Ten lettering.

The Initial D manga-inspired Toyota GR86 at the Aldo Scribante Race Circuit. (Photo: Dean Barthorp)

Rear view of the GR86. (Photo: Dean Barthorp)

It soon became clear that Toyota SA intended the media to have as much unadulterated fun in the new GR86 as possible. In highly competitive drag races, we let rip 0-100 in 6.4 seconds, in our 6-speed, naturally aspirated manuals. (Just for the record, yours truly did a few impressive accelerated smoking starts to wallop a couple of the boys at the finishing line. The curdled scowls left on their dials reminded me a bit of Takumi’s delivery tofu.)

With traction control switched off, tyres were put to the test during adrenalin-filled drifting sessions, followed by hot laps on the notoriously tricky Scribante track.

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Now emblazoned with a GR badge (which stands for Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s high performance and racing division that debuted in Nürburgring back in 2007), the new GR86 should especially appeal to any driver who gets a kick out of burning tyres and doing “doughnuts”.

With the advent of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing, there’s been a significant turnaround in perception for the Japanese manufacturer which was once regarded as a rather — let’s be honest — vanilla brand. Over the past few years, Toyota has won newfound respect among petrol heads by introducing some of the most exciting production cars in decades — think the GR Yaris rally-to-road spitfire.

The new GR86 has grown in length but not in weight. It’s underpinned by an all-new 2.4-litre Subaru-sourced four-cylinder, horizontally opposed piston “boxer” engine which is a key contributor to its low centre of gravity. Now with substantial extra power (174kW) and torque (250Nm) compared to its 2.0-litre GT86 predecessor, there’s a choice between a six-speed manual or six-speed auto, with power going to the rear wheels. The manual is the one I’d go for.

Safety

After recently driving a string of SUVs and bakkies, I felt at times precariously close to the tar in this roadster as we zipped along highways and mountainous passes. So I was relieved to discover that there have been significant improvements on the safety front with the chassis’s overall rigidity now upped by 60%. The GR also offers seven airbags and driver-assisted features including Blind Spot Monitor, Lane Departure Alert, Park Distance Control and Pre-Collision Brake Assist.

The cabin of the GR86. (Photo: TMSA)

There’s nothing too fancy or distracting in the cabin. It’s all very clean and Japanese where things are placed exactly where they should be. There’s just enough comfort to know you’re sitting in something special with leather and suede trim encasing the heated seats. There’s also a handy reverse camera and a multifunction sporty steering wheel.

The thing is, the 86 doesn’t need a whole lot of bells and whistles ’cos it’s just a fantastic sports coupé to get your youthful kicks in. It growls and snarls like a bad boy, it’s light on its feet and can change direction in a flash. I found the electric power steering remarkably sharp and even the boot managed to impress, holding substantially more than most roadsters. But let it be said that the rear seats are pathetic in terms of space, although who the hell wants passengers when you’re having such unadulterated fun?

Your wallet

I can’t even gripe about the price when you look at what else is on offer in the current sports car segment — for example, the straight entry-level Audi TT is almost R200k more and Ford’s Mustang comes in at over a bar.

It is however interesting to note that when it was first introduced locally in SA back in 2012 as “an affordable sports car”, the 86 had a price tag of just under R300k. A decade later, it’s just over double that for the manual due to crazy inflation and an ever-dwindling exchange rate.

Although this is a niche segment, I have a feeling this GR86 is going to do well locally if the response in the UK is anything to go by. Earlier this year, the entire two-year allocation of GR86s in Great Britain was gobbled up by eager enthusiasts within 90 minutes of digital orders going live.

In years to come, when we’ve all been forced to go electric, methinks this naturally aspirated racer will be regarded as a collector’s piece. In my final analysis, I find myself agreeing with the UK’s Top Gear: “The GR86 is one of 2022’s very best cars. The antidote to overpowered, overweight, overcomplicated so-called sports cars… one of the very best machines Toyota has ever built.” DM

Pricing:

GR86 manual — R698 100.
GR86 auto — R733 700.