Is the GT86/FRS/BRZ justified as being called a sports car?

07 Aug 2015

We need your help in solving an ongoing debate that is currently causing friction in the Car Throttle office. The cause of this debate? It’s the GT86/FRS/BRZ variant.

A member of the team has expressed an interest in buying one, and with that, the debate begun…

Some are arguing that it is just not special enough, that it’s too slow and a little too expensive to make it worth purchasing, "It’s a sports car with no power, in the same league as an MX-5".

Others, however, are saying "anyone that says the GT86 needs more power has completely missed the point of the car. The GT86 isn’t supposed to be a bonkers quick car, just like the MX-5 and all their predecessors. It’s a quick (enough) and cheap (enough) car for people that can’t afford 911s, Z4Ms and other more expensive German options"

So what do you think, would you buy one? It would be interesting to hear your collective thoughts, it may well shape a decision to buy one! Give us your feedback in the comments below.

Comments

I think that anyone who doesn’t think the Toyota 86 is a sports car doesn’t understand what a sports car is supposed to be. The 86 has everything that a sports car needs: a solid chassis, a sleek aerodynamic profile, the right proportions to be controllable even with truly bonkers quantities of power, great steering feel (or at least as good as a modern electric steering rack will allow), and laser precision. All that it’s missing is the power, and even then, its engine is dripping with potential for power. It’s the same engine you see in the new WRX (though with a higher compression ratio than the WRX has), and it’s been rated to a maximum safe tolerance of just over 410 bhp. Before it came down the grapevine that Subaru is discontinuing the STi, I assumed the next gen STi would come with a 400-hp version of this engine.

What this car is, then, is a blank slate. Subaru and Toyota gave it a fast chassis and a solid (arguably over-engineered) engine, and then deliberately declined to give it the kind of power we all know it can easily tolerate. Thus leaving it up to YOU to decide how much power you want to live with, and build it yourself.

The 86 is not just a sports car, it is the pièce de resistance of modern sports cars, and a piece of automotive history. It is the first car ever designed from the ground up SPECIFICALLY to be a tuner car. It’s not a car the aftermarket organically picked up, it was designed for the aftermarket.

The only possible argument one could make against buying one is that it’s too new to find cheap beater versions. That’s it though. That’s literally the end of my objections to this car. It’s a true masterpiece.

I should add: I wouldn’t want one of these to leave it stock. The reason being that I don’t think it’s quite theatrical, exciting or playful on its own. It’s buttoned-down, enclosed, and generally a more sort of Track-focused chassis that’s mostly urging you to drive it really hard. And the fact it’s a long-ish car contributes to that. If I wanted something purely for a canyon road/around-town toy, I’d get an MX-5 and supercharge it, or even just get an S2000 and leave it as is. The 86 though, I think it can be more. A hell of a lot more. It’s a power-friendly platform that’s just missing the power. It doesn’t strictly speaking need more power, but I feel like if I didn’t give it more power, I’d be leaving gobs of potential on the table.

I think ~300 to 350 whp is about right for this chassis. It can handle still more (though as you add more power it becomes increasingly imperative to lengthen first gear — luckily Cusco has your back there), but that would cross the threshold from "enjoyable" to "scary". Even Jeremy Clarkson has had to admit there is such a thing as too much power.

I had one for a little over a year and I loved it…. BUT, it’s not a great car if you’re the kind of person who drives on ego. You’re not going to out-drag anything in this car…. but that’s not the point of it either. Find a twisty mountain road and you will love it! The balance of grip vs power is perfect with those skinny little tires, so you can have it going sideways at much safer speeds than a high powered grippy sportscar. It’s not about going fast, it’s about DRIVING… really driving…. and that’s what a sportscar is all about.

I would buy one but I’d increase the power, maybe turbocharge it

I’ve sat in both the BRZ and GT86, and extensively researched them. In my opinion: Yes, it can be classified as a sports car. More importantly, a proper, affordable ‘drivers’ car. With RWD, manual gearbox (following the classic recipe), and no computers getting in the way of the driving experience , affordable for the majority for the general public. It may be underpowered and doesn’t have as much torque, but in my opinion its more thrilling due to its emphasis on handling rather than power, and for me its a joy to hear the engine rev towards the redline. Plus, sports cars don’t place too much emphasis on practicality, comfort, or safety, and this clearly doesn’t emphasize these qualities which are ignored by sports cars. There are cheaper alternatives though, both new and used, but for me if its RWD and has three pedals, its a sports car.

It’s all about the handling and low wheight, it’s a big mx5, little more more, little bit more space inside and protection from weather…. If i had the money, i’d get one for sure. Would i turbocharge it? I don’t know, maybe…. Probably i’d just chip it to get some more power out of it without spending a huge amount on a turbo conversion…. That and some nice rims and coils and that would be it!

Heres the thing, i feel a sports car is more about the experience , and what i mean by that , it doesnt have to be bonkers quick to make you feel like your having fun. Ill tell you all this much, i have a fb rx7 non turbo and the thong maaaayyyybe puts done 150ish to the wheels, and its the most fun ive ever had in a car, theres something about being able to give the car a full beating and not worry about losing the ass end. Now back to the frs/brz. You had two entities make this car, Toyota and subaru , toyota realized to make this car as user friendly as possible they would need to have near 50/50 balance and keep the center of gravity as low as possible,it only made sense to team up with Subaru and put the boxer engine in. Now will I call it a full sports car ,no, but i think it beckons to be modified much like its older brother , and thats where the crazyness starts, i mean it purposely came with prius tires to make it easy to slide . So, i respect toyota for building this car and creating a rebirth of Japanese cars that can still be fun but not cost you an arm and a leg… Hopefully more will come from this and we’ll see a snow ball effect happen

i think it should be considered a sports car. A sports car has nothing to do with the speed, for instance a Lotus Elise with 130 hp no matter how light it is, it is still a slw car, but it is definetelly a sports car. So in that matter I’d say that the GT86 is a sports car. On the matter if i would buy one or not, the answer is definetelly not. I really like the looks and I am sure that I’d love the driving experience but I don’t live next to a racetrack and basically for the same money as the GT86 in my country I could buy some cracking used cars, including 997s, so that’s where my money would go. If someone wants a trackday toy that can be used for commuting as well i think that the GT86 would be a better choice as i would be more resiliant to the hard punishment of a track.