Toyota 86 Makes its D1GP Debut in Japan…and Crashes!

We all know that the Toyota 86 (or GT86/Scion FR-S) was not made for outright power and top Nürburgring lap times but for having some fun behind the wheel of a nimble sports car. One of the things that the 86 is happy to oblige with is drifting thanks to its rear-wheel drive setup, limited-slip diff and a stability control system that can be fully deactivated.

It goes without saying that the modern-day hachiroku would participate in pro drifting series. But while the standard boxer may be satisfactory for road use, for racing, more power is needed.

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2013 Scion FR-S Rolls on to the Dyno to Prove its Worth

Toyota, Subaru and Scion all tell us that their co-developed trio of rear-wheel drive sports coupes, namely the 86/GT86, BRZ and FR-S, are powered by the same 2.0-liter flat-four that produces 200 horsepower and 151 lb-ft (205Nm) at the flywheel.

As is common these days with any newly launched model, independent testers, in this case, the folks over at Edmund's Insideline, strapped the North American market 2013 Scion FR-S on the dyno to see what kind of numbers it would produce.

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Toyota to Field a Pair of GT86 Coupes in the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race [Video]

Toyota is wasting no time in preparing its newly launched 86 rear-wheel drive coupe (named GT86 in Europe) for its motorsports activities.

The Japanese automaker announced today that in cooperation with its motorsports partner Gazoo Racing, it is entering two GT86 coupes in the famous Nürburgring 24 hour race, which takes place from May 17 to 20. Gazoo Racing will also field a Lexus LFA in the race.

Prior to the Nürburgring endurance race, Gazoo Racing will bring one of its GT86 models to the Japanese Rally Championship.

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Toyota Wants us to Know that the 86 Coupe was 'Built by Passion' in New Spot

With the Toyota 86 gradually rolling out into more markets worldwide, the Japanese automaker is stepping up its efforts to promote the rear-wheel drive sports coupe, this time with a new commercial labeled "Full Throttle - Drive with Passion".

As the name suggests, the spot was made to highlight the 86's (called GT 86 in Europe) driving dynamics. You can check it out in the video right past the jump.

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Toyota 86 Coupe Prepped with TRD Parts, Plus Video of Ken Gushi Driving Scion FR-S

In a sort of two for one deal, we present to you one of the first videos of the Japanese domestic market (JDM) Toyota 86 fitted with a selection of parts from the brand's in-house tuning division TRD, and a second clip of its North American twin, the Scion FR-S in both stock and racing forms.

The Toyota 86 TRD model features a different exhaust system plus a sports suspension package and a more powerful braking system. You can read more about TRD's offerings in our previous post here.

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This Toyota 86 is Powered by a Lexus IS F 5.0-liter V8!

Even though few consumers have actually driven it, many have been…complaining about the lack of power in the Toyota GT 86 and 86, Subaru BRZ and for North America, the Scion FR-S, all of which share a 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated boxer-engine yielding 200-horses at 7,000rpm and a peak torque of 205Nm (151.2 lb-ft) at 6,600rpm.

That's music to the ears of the aftermarket industry, which will happily provide a lot more ponies in all sorts of ways, depending on the depth of buyers' pockets.

Over the coming months and years, we're also sure to see many custom creations with engine swaps. If you're looking for ideas, here are a couple of videos of a custom Toyota 86 that you will probably find extremely interesting.

Made to compete in this year's Japanese D1 drift series with Max Orido behind the wheel, this Toyota 86 ditches the factory four-pot for a 5.0-liter V8 engine sourced from the Lexus IS F!

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Toyota UK Releases Detailed Pricing and Specifications for New GT 86

The roll out for the Toyota and Subaru rear-wheel drive coupe triplets continues in the UK where the Toyota confirmed pricing and specifications for the GT 86 after an initial announcement in February.

In Britain, the GT 86 is available for order with first deliveries to take place on July 1. There's only one equipment grade available at launch, with buyers having the option of a six-speed manual model priced at £24,995 (€29,890 or US$39,580) on-the-road or a 6sp automatic variant at £26,495 (€31,680 or US$41,950).

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Subaru Kicks Off Series Production of BRZ and Toyota 86 in Japan

Subaru held a special ceremony today at its Gunma factory in Ota-city, Japan, to mark the series production start of the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 (named GT 86 in Europe) rear-wheel drive coupes. The presidents of both companies attended the event.

The factory, which will produce both models as well as the Impreza by March 2013, underwent several changes to cope with the extra capacity.

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Oops…Toyota 86 Coupe Drifts Into a Metal Barrier in Japan

Drifting a lightweight, rear-wheel drive coupe like the Toyota 86, which is Japan's version of the North American Scion FR-S and the European Toyota GT 86, on a wet parking lot can be loads of fun just as long as you accept the increased risk of losing control.

Which is what happened to one of the drivers trying out the 86 at a parking lot in Odaiba, Japan, last Friday on March 9.

Fortunately for the driver, he didn’t hit the metal barrier hard thus reducing the damages to the car. If you want to see what happened, head past the break for the video.

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