Toyota GT86 successor postponed in production

The next-gen Subaru BRZ, which is featured in our gallery and the video here, debuted last November. Unfortunately, its Toyota-badged twin will have to wait much longer, because it needs to develop individuality.

Toyota CEO himself ordered the engineering crew responsible for developing the GT86 successor to apply every effort in making it stand out from the crowd. This includes giving it a new front fascia along with numerous transmission, handling and chassis tweaks.

The car will probably still run on Subaru power, specifically a 2.4-liter naturally aspirated inline engine rated at 231 PS (228 hp / 170 kW) and 250 Nm (135 lb-ft) of torque. Customers should get a choice between six-speed manual and automatic transmission.

It has to be pointed out that the previous-gen GT86 and BRZ also had minimal technical differences: for instance, the suspension springs used were different. Their common 2.0-liter non-turbo produced between 200 and 207 PS (197 – 204 hp; 147 – 152 kW) depending on the model.

Japanese media believe the GT86 replacement should arrive on the market by next March or so. With the current headway of the Subaru BRZ, it will likely sell more units, but the situation was the opposite in the first generation when the GT86 arrived first and became the more popular of the two.