Toyota has revealed a special 10th Anniversary Edition of its new GR86 as the South African launch of the rear-wheel-drive sportscar draws ever closer…

It’s been a decade since the Toyota 86 (later locally rechristened the GT86) hit the market. Now, with the local arrival of the new-generation model just around the corner, the Japanese firm has unwrapped the GR86 10th Anniversary Edition.

Conceived to – you guessed it – celebrate 10 years of the rear-driven coupé, the special-edition model boasts a fresh orange exterior paint option, which is matched inside by a two-tone (black and orange) colour scheme. A special “10th Anniversary” logo appears in places such as the interior door trim.

Although the new Subaru BRZ (alongside which the GR86 was jointly developed) is not likely to be launched in South Africa, the Toyota-branded version of the coupé is scheduled to arrive in local dealerships later in the third quarter of 2022.

The GR86 10th Anniversary Edition has yet to be confirmed for a local introduction, though we wouldn’t be surprised to see a few units (say, 86?) make their way to South Africa. After all, a limited-edition version of the original 86 launched here in 2014, complete with a towering rear wing.

While further details have yet to be released, the GR86 10th Anniversary Edition is expected to be mechanically identical to the standard version of the sportscar, which employs a new horizontally opposed, 2.4-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine.

Courtesy of some extra displacement and a spot of clever tinkering, peak outputs of the naturally aspirated powerplant climb to 173 kW and 250 Nm (up from the old 2.0-litre model’s maximum figures of 147 kW and 205 Nm), while the obligatory 0-100 kph sprint falls from 7.4 to 6.3 seconds when fitted with the standard 6-speed manual gearbox. An automatic transmission with the same number of gears will also be available.

The original Toyota 86 marked the brand’s return to building sportscars, effectively setting the scene for the introduction of the Toyota Gazoo Racing division (which has since launched models such as the GR Supra and GR Yaris, not to mention the GR Corolla).

Interestingly, the press image of the GR86 Anniversary Edition shows the vehicle sans an infotainment screen…

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