Back in September of last year, we learned that Toyota would begin to offer sportier, Japan-only Toyota models with the new GR Performance line. Today, we see the first of that line, the Toyota 86 GR Sport, and, uh, meh?
God, I feel so crappy for saying so, but yes, meh! The GR Performance line will have three levels of offerings: The base GR Sport, middle GR and top-trim GRMN. If you can read Japanese, here’s the breakdown:
This Toyota 86 GR Sport is the bottom trim and offers a new, exclusive front spoiler, special front bumper side fins, Brembo brakes, updated wheels, a small-diameter steering wheel and GR gauges.
The 86 GR Sport comes in either the six-speed manual or the six-speed automatic. Exterior colors include white, black and red. There do not appear to be any engine upgrades.
The price for the manual comes to 3,780,000 Japanese yen (approximately $34,130) and the automatic costs 3,846,960 Japanese yen (approximately $34,735). The standard 86 starts at $26,455.
In addition to the 86 GR Sport, buyers also have the option of purchasing GR Parts, which include the front spoiler, side fins, GR rear spoiler, steering wheel, start switch and the T-Connect Navi, which is basically a lap time recorder.
This 86 GR Sport is exactly what I feared it would be: An appearance package. Toyota had a lot it could have done here. Cut some weight, coaxed out some more power, offered it in manual only. But no, we didn’t get any of that. It would have been rad if we did. The 86 platform would have been perfect for it, too.
What will likely follow the 86 GR Sport will be GRed versions of the Prius, Harrier, Mark X and Vitz (Yaris for us). And there’s still no word on whether or not the cars will come stateside.
[h/t to Paulo!]