A Turbocharged GT86 Isn't Possible Without A New Platform, Toyota Says

Recent comments from GT86 development chief Tetsuya Tada effectively halt the long-spinning turbo rumour mill

14 Mar 2018

No matter how many times high-ranking Toyota employees rule out a turbocharged version of the GT86, we’ve remained living in hope. After all, we’ve seen just how amazing the boxer-engined sports car can be with more power and a few supporting mods from the aftermarket, so how awesome would it be if we had such a thing form Toyota itself?

Now though, GT86 and GR Supra engineer Tetsuya Tada has effectively put the turbo speculation to bed for good.

Speaking to Car Advice, Tada-san assured that he certainly isn’t averse to turbochargers. “There were some articles in the media that Mr Tada doesn’t like a turbo,” he said, adding, “That’s not really true. I do like turbos, however if we come up with a turbo version of the 86 and boost up the power that would result in the necessity of changing the basic configuration completely, to come up with a car that I would be satisfied with.”

A Turbocharged GT86 Isn't Possible Without A New Platform, Toyota Says

Why? It’s all about balance, Tada-san explained.The standard the car is “slightly front loaded so it makes the handling more fast and agile,” so the weight of a turbocharger plus all the ancillaries would muck that up. “That means we have to come up with a completely new platform,” he concluded.

So for now, it’s safe to say it isn’t going to happen. But hey - when the next GT86 is here, we can go back to dreaming once more.

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

“The weight of a turbo and such would throw off the balance in the front” then throw some wider tires in the back problem solved

Wider tires sacrifice low speed agility. Not something you want in an 86. It will also have more trouble on narrow roads and will be harder to position on the road with wider tires.

Translation: we are too busy finding new ways to bamboozle all of you with Supra teasers that we don’t have time to turbocharge our GT86

Supercharged GT86 confirmed!!

They just know how much fun (read as: dangerous if you are an insurance agency) it would be, don’t give me no weight distribution nonsense you are TOYOTA, the BIGGEST auto manufacturers on the PLANET…

Weight distribution is a real concern when you consider the kind of car they’re trying to build. The fact that they’re Toyota is irrelevant.

I’m no engineer by any means (Emphasis on that as it relates to what I’m going to talk about), but why not move the engine and transmission back a few inches?

You’d effectively shift the engine’s weight over the front axle rather than slightly forwards where it currently is, and the transmission would be further back, again helping weight bias shift further backwards. Along with that, having the turbo mounted a little further back with the increased piping would offset the weight of an intercooler up front, or top mount the intercooler like a WRX or the (granted, air to water) F80 M3.

If you moved it back, it would go in to the cabin. There’s a reason why they put it there. The car could be lengthened, but once again, “different platform”.