Rumor: Next Toyota GR86 Could Get GR Corolla's Three-Cylinder Powertrain
The Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86 recently got makeovers that finally gave them more power and the spirited driving dynamics they needed. New rumors point to the Toyota half of the duo getting even more power in the future via the GR Corolla’s turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder.
The reports come from a couple of Japanese outlets, Mag-X and Best Car, and were summarized by Autoblog. Some details in the reports conflict with each other, but the general idea is that Toyota is taking over the development of the GR86 from Subaru and will replace the automaker’s flat-four engine with its turbo-three. Since Subaru’s unlikely to adopt a non-boxer engine, there’s a chance the BRZ could fade away if the transition happens, as rumored.
It's important to note that we’re likely talking about a next-generation car here. The GR86’s underpinnings can’t accommodate the three-cylinder powertrain in its current form, so some have speculated that Toyota would move to a version of the Lexus IS platform.
In terms of timeframe, the report from Mag-X states that we’ll see the new car in 2028, though Best Car feels it’ll come much sooner in 2025. It’s an exciting prospect to think about, as the GR Corolla’s rowdy three-cylinder engine would completely transform the GR86. The only shame here would be losing the Subaru BRZ in translation, as the automotive world needs all the two-door, rear-drive action it can get.
[Image: Toyota]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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That will be one wild rwd sports coupe..... The awd coupling is the "weak" spot of the GR Yaris (I assume also Corolla), if tracked hard on pavement. In rwd guise, with the exquisite poise the 86 already has, it should be both cracker, and unproblematic. Besides, rwd is more "fun" with modern tires on 98% (1st gear corners excepted) of grippy pavement anyway, for something with under 300hp.
After reading a lot of reviews on the 86, it's a pos. The quality and wind buffetting is a big problem, oh and noisy.
Thank you for your input - the respondents who read the question, anyway.
"There are a few cars today which match the S2000 and cost no where near 100k." 9000rpm? a shifter with enough precision to make the bolt throw on 2000yd rifle feel sloppy? Suspension with sufficient camber control to balance 16 inch, tall sidewall tires near all the way up to their very knife-edge traction limit (which, just like in Hamilton's F1 cart, does leave very little in the way of "handling stability" on the table. That's a feature. And takes capital L Lots of precision. Although I recognise it may not be everyone's idea of the the optimal setup for a carefree, sporty street car.). Almost draft free at 120mph.. And a chassis enabling it all, year in, year out without creaks, despite being a convertible. With real doors, not 2 feet high doorsills with a tiny moveable flap at the top, even. Who the heck does that today? Who the heck CAN do that today, at anything beyond pure hand-tuned prototype volumes? And even then, I bet at least either the chassis solidity, or the day-to-day-liveable door openings would have to give. Porsche isn't making GT3s in convertible form, probably for good reason. And for less than $100K, fat chance... I suppose, if Morizo retains sway at Toyota GR, they would be the closest. But even GR seems much more grounded and down to earth than the Oval Cylinders, Jets and Humanoid Robots company were in their giddy, infinite resources of every kind, heyday.