Skip advert
Advertisement

Tuned GT 86 leads Toyota's Tokyo Auto Salon line-up

A pair of tweaked Toyota GT 86 coupes join a supercharged iQ, Yaris Turbo Concept and electric 2000GT at 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon

Toyota’s got a wealth of concepts at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon stand, some of them quite zany. They’re the work of well-known tuning brands which specialise in Toyota produce. Unsurprisingly, the tuning fraternity is already in raptures with the new GT 86 rear-drive coupe. Two tweaked versions appear at the show. TRD’s version (main picture) gets a reworked suspension setup, with new front and rear anti-roll bars, a carbon front strut, a rear diffuser, additional cross-bracing and a more open exhaust system.  There’s also a visual makeover, with satin white pearl paint, 18in alloys and a butcher body kit. Modellista has also given the car a styling spruce-up, its GT 86 gaining a bold new side strip. Toyota will also compete at the 2012 Nurburgring 24-hours with a race-prepared GT 86, pictured in development, right. Other highlights of the stand include a supercharged iQ city car by GRMN. Forced induction sees its tiddly 1.33-litre engine produce 128bhp and 133lb ft – up from 97bhp and 92lb ft – enough to endow the sub-ton car with the same power-to-weight ratio as a Peugeot 306 Rallye. It gets a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox, upgraded brakes, sports suspension and a tuned exhaust. And perhaps surprisingly, there’ll even be a 100-strong limited production run. GRMN has also stuck a turbocharger in the new Yaris (or the Vitz, as the Japanese market knows it as). The Vitz Turbo Concept boasts a blown 1.5-litre engine with 178bhp – the same as a Polo GTI and enough to compete in the current small hot hatch class – as well as sharpened suspension and brakes and 18in alloys. There are a couple of interesting electric cars, too. The Toyota Auto Fan Club has built a solar-electric powered version of the lovely 2000GT sports car of the late 1960s, while the Toyota Engineering Society have put together the far more modern-looking TES-ERA EV coupe (in blue, right). The Tokyo Auto Salon takes place this coming weekend, and we can expect a host of other mad and interesting stuff to appear from other manufacturers and tuners.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

The new Toyota GR Yaris Sébastien Ogier edition is a rally car for the road
Toyota GR Yaris Sebastien Ogier 9 World Champion Edition
News

The new Toyota GR Yaris Sébastien Ogier edition is a rally car for the road

Toyota has chosen the season-opening 2026 Monte Carlo rally to reveal a new special edition of the GR Yaris. It’s one with a very long name: the Toyot…
22 Jan 2026
Four pricey performance cars that make more sense to buy used
Depreciated performance cars
Features

Four pricey performance cars that make more sense to buy used

Depreciation: One buyer’s suffering is another man's saving, such as £65k off a nearly-new BMW M8 or £20k off a nearly-new Mercedes-AMG A35
22 Jan 2026
Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage: 20 years later, Bugatti facelifts the Veyron
Bugatti FKP
News

Bugatti F.K.P. Hommage: 20 years later, Bugatti facelifts the Veyron

One-of-one special Bugatti Solitaire customer car reimagines the Veyron for the 2020s, and gives it 60 per cent more power
22 Jan 2026