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2016 New York Motor Show: Toyota 86 revealed

Styling, suspension and performance tweaks highlight a significant facelift for the Toyota 86, due in Australia in June

New Toyota 86 revealed
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THE Toyota 86 has been given a mid-life update, with the Japanese carmaker rolling out a string of styling, suspension and power tweaks.

The two-door Toyota – which in 2012 was named the Wheels Car of the Year alongside its Subaru BRZ twin – was revealed overnight at the New York Show, wearing a Toyota badge in the North American market for the first time as the carmaker brings its US market-only Scion brand back into the regular line-up.

Toyota -86-rearThe updated Toyota 86’s exterior features headlight clusters that now incorporate the indicators, with an extra-chunky front bumper and larger front grille proving a more menacing look. There’s also an extra low lip compared with the existing car’s profile, and a new 17-inch alloy pattern that’s more elegant than athletic. For trainspotters, the GT86 badge has now been styled as a standalone 86 graphic.

Beneath that body, there are revised spring and damper rates, as well as a change to the final drive on manual models. Manual-shift 86s have also had a slight tickle under the bonnet, with a 4kw/9Nm bump to 151kW/214Nm.

Opt for the flagship GTS model and you’ll also score ‘Grandlux’ trim on the dash, seats with silver stitching, and audio controls integrated into the steering wheel.

Toyota -86-front -blueThe fresh-look GT 86, due in Australia June, is expected to remain at the same $29,990 starting price as the current model.

Toyota’s decision to dump the Scion badge in the US is a significant one for the carmaker.

Scion was Toyota’s youth-oriented sub-brand that was launched in 2003, selling largely re-badged Toyota models. It was somewhat successful: more than a million Scion-badged cars have been sold, with Toyota claiming that 70 percent of customers were new to the Toyota/Scion brand, and that half were less than 35 years old. Its best sales year was 2007, when it moved 173,034 Scions. That fell to a mere 56,167 in 2015.

Toyota -86-rear -blueIn 2012, the Toyota GT-86 went on sale in the US badged as the Scion FR-S with a particular tilt towards aftermarket tuning. Toyota says replacing the Scion badge with a Toyota one will lessen the focus on aftermarket tuning as the carmaker aims to make the four-seat coupe more appealing to a broader audience.

What does the refreshed 86 mean for its twin under the skin, the Subaru BRZ, which is built alongside the 86 in Subaru’s Gunma, Japan, factory? Nothing, apparently.

Damion Smy

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