Toyota Gazoo Racing is making a limited edition GR86 to commemorate ten years since the release of the Toyota 86. The Toyota GR86 “10th Anniversary Limited” (link in Japanese) will come with an orange paint finish familiar to fans of the original Toyota 86, released in 2012. The special edition GR86 is being released for the Japanese market, and Toyota is only taking preorders for a limited time: from July 24 through September 30.
The giveaway to the commemorative GR86 being a Japan-only model is the RZ designation. The car’s full model name — the one Toyota 86 enthusiasts in Japan must list on the preorder — is the Toyota GR86 RZ 10th Anniversary Limited. And I’d write the carmaker’s color, “Flame Orange,” on the form, too.
That’s really just to prevent any mixup that could end with Japanese drivers receiving a blue BRZ, instead of the orange GR86. Subaru is also celebrating ten years since the release of the BRZ in Japan, with a similar special edition called the Subaru BRZ S “10th Anniversary Limited.” The main things setting these Toyobaru twins apart are paint color and color-matched motifs inside the cabin.
The GR86 10th Anniversary will come with orange stitching on the steering wheel, seats, handbrake and gearshift. Basically, most touch points, but there’s also “10th Anniversary” embroidery on the driver’s seat and passenger door.
There’s not much else making this anniversary GR86 different from other Toyota GR86 RZ models in Japan. It’ll have the same 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine making 232 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. It can also be ordered with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.
Toyota didn’t say how many of its anniversary GR86 models will be made. Subaru is making 200 limited edition BRZs — which will cost less than the limited edition GR86 — and preorders are open from July 28 through September 30. That’s four days less than Toyota’s GR86 preorder window, which could mean Toyota has more time to gauge driver interest and maybe make more than 200 models.
The Toyota GR86 10th Anniversary Limited starts at ¥3,469,000 or about $25,490 at current exchange rates. That’s for a limited-edition model with six-speed manual transmission; the automatic transmission costs an extra $1,198. The starting price of the anniversary GR86 is ¥20,000 more than a regular RZ , or less than a $150.00 difference. Not a bad premium for that orange paint.
Toyota is releasing a similar model in the U.S. called the Toyota GR86 Special Edition. It’s not quite the same car; the U.S.-spec GR86 SE lacks anniversary embroidery, but at least it’s orange and it comes with a louder exhaust.
