The Toyota GR86 has been an enduring presence in the company’s performance car lineup. The coupe is the fruit of a growing partnership with Subaru and while it originally started off in the brand’s axed Scion brand, the GR86 has managed to find its second wind in recent years and has proven to be a strong seller for the Japanese auto giant.
However, the lack of power under the hood has followed it around like an unwanted ball and chain and it has caused it to fall behind in raw speed and power with the go-kart-like handling behavior being its biggest selling point. However, it appears that Toyota (and perhaps partner Subaru) have finally listened to the outcry with Toyota unveiling a GR86-based SEMA concept that finally brings turbo power to the nameplate for the first time ever.
GR86 Rally Legacy brings turbo power for the circuit
A big catch here is that the GR86 Rally Legacy concept is not a production-bound model with Toyota reps declining to issue comment on whether a production version is coming. Instead, the company proudly says that this concept is the best of both worlds with the creation being based on the GR86. The exterior styling revisions are largely limited to rally-inspired add-ons with the concept being inspired by the championship-winning Celica rally cars with the livery being inspired by those classic racers. The concept also gets front-mounted lighting, massive mudflaps, and a large rear spoiler.
However, underneath the skin is where the bulk of the changes take place. The wheezy boxer engine is replaced with the GR Corolla’s turbocharged 1.6-liter. But while the engine is smaller than the boxer engine it replaces, engineers still had to do a massive amount of work to make the engine fit. Most of this went into modifying the front end and the chassis to help the driveline and all the associated components clear the 86’s engine bay and transmission tunnel. The AWD system also required extensive modifications with the axles, spindles, and hubs all being swapped over from the Corolla. A new intercooler was added to help keep the engine from cooking itself into oblivion and an oil cooler to help keep things cool too. A race-ready ECU helps manage the stock 300 hp but Toyota says that the engine is capable of even more power with the help of revisions to the aforementioned ECU.
The interior is largely what you would expect from a typical rally car with all of the comfort and frills being stripped out to shed weight. Front passengers get a pair of Sparco racing seats and a full roll cage is also integrated into the concept too.
Will this lead to a production model?
Despite Toyota’s attempts to steer away from the subject of production, we think that the concept could eventually inspire a production model. The demand for more power has always been a long-running request and a new halo model for the GR86 range would help give it a new range-topping model for customers to buy. A potential difference would be under the engine bay with the possible variant possibly getting its boost from a new Subaru sourced engine. This would allow engineers to put much less effort into making such a model possible and remove some of the extreme and ultimately pricey modifications needed to make the whole setup work.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.