It looks like the second generation of Toyota’s 86 will again be built in partnership with Subaru, according to a report by Autocar, and confirmed by Toyota. The company’s last best car — its new best car is obviously the Supra – will thankfully get a second generation, and it will still use Subie’s boxer four.
It will sit beneath the Supra in the company’s burgeoning sports car lineup and probably wear the GR Sport (Gazoo Racing) badge.
European marketing boss Matt Harrison told Autocar that it has been “a successful ‘halo’ product for us,” and that “Supra is not to replace that car. They are for different audiences and are different products. We see a situation where they will sit alongside each other.”
Harrison also calmed our nerves saying the 86 and the Supra are, “not about volume globally. It’s about adding excitement to the brand.”
That’s great news because sales have been declining since 2013, but that always happens towards the end of a generation. Sometimes automakers try to juice those sales at the end of the run with special editions. Toyota did that with the TRD version that offered more grip, bigger brakes, Sachs dampers and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. That one goes on sale in August for $33,340 as a 2019 model, which means we won’t see a new version of the 86 until at least 2020. Still, the fact that it’s staying around at all bodes well for us enthusiasts.
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