Source: Toyota
Plano, Texas – The thrill of driving a superbly balanced, track-tuned sports car never goes out of style, especially when it’s as stylish as the Toyota 86. With 205 horsepower moving about 2,800 pounds and sophisticated suspension coupled with an ultra-low center of gravity, the 86 delivers an unabashedly authentic and athletic experience in a 2+2 sports coupe at a price starting under $27,000.
For 2020, Toyota piled on greater agility, tech and style to make the 86 an even more compelling machine. Not surprisingly, the 86 recently came under the spell of the driving mavens at Toyota Racing Development (TRD). For 2020, a new TRD Handling Package for the manual transmission- equipped 86 base model inherits the same chassis performance upgrades from the 2019 86 TRD Special Edition, including Brembo power-assisted ventilated disc brakes (12.83-in. front, 12.44-in. rear), SACHS dampers and 18-in. split-spoke alloy wheels with 215/40R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires.
Next comes tech, with all Toyota 86 models getting a new 7-in. Multimedia Audio system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. It’s an impressively comprehensive system, with 7-in. touch- screen display, AM/FM, 8 speakers, USB media and charging port, hands-free phone capability and music streaming via Bluetooth wireless technology with steering wheel audio controls and Clari-Fi technology. That latter bit of wizardry helps make compressed digital music formats sound more open and natural.
Hakone Edition Inspired by Special Road
Then comes style, and there’s more of it for 2020. The new 86 Hakone Edition pays tribute to a road that seems made just for this highly agile Toyota sports car: Hakone Turnpike. It’s a winding two-lane dream road that starts about two hours southwest of Tokyo and climbs nine miles through a scenic mountain forest, in an area that’s crisscrossed with similarly engaging roads. This drivers’ paradise was the inspiration for the Hakone Green paint color on this very special 86.
The 86 Hakone Edition is based on the Toyota 86 GT grade and offers a choice of six-speed manual or six- speed automatic transmission. Its bronze-colored 17-in. twisted-spoke alloy wheels and matte- black spoiler perfectly set off the deep green of the body. Heated sport front bucket seats with tan leather bolsters and black Alcantara suede-like inserts with black contrast stitching create a striking yet elegant cockpit.
