Toyota has updated the GR86 and launched a new ad campaign to go along with it. The improvements are minor, but the commercial, titled “The Buddy”, is a beautifully shot homage to motoring. Brief Archival glimpses of an AE86 are interspersed with images of the GR86 gracefully arcing through Japanese B-roads.
The upgrades are minimal. Toyota tweaked settings for the throttle and electronic power steering. The latter was based on feedback gleaned from the GR86’s participation in the Super Taikyu endurance series to eliminate wobble in high-speed corners and on rough surfaces.
We also love this detail: Toyota points out that they broadened the chamfer on the 6MT’s shift interlock by 0.5 mm to smooth out downshifts from fifth to fourth. Interior switches have been redesigned with better grip and finished in “cast iron black” to reduce glare. Also, the EyeSight driver-assist system borrowed from Subaru now features a triple-camera configuration, one more eyeball than the previous two-camera system.
Cosmetically, the GR86 throws back to the ZN6 with a Solid Gray exterior color last used in 2017 and a black-and-red colorway reminiscent of the previous genration for the interior. And that’s it, as far as changes go.
But the thing that really makes us yearn for a GR86 is the way the commercial depicts the ownership experience. Solo drives across beautiful landscapes, remote and empty roads ripe for spirited driving, all just waiting for you and your trusty GR86 steed. The updates might be small but they show Toyota is still listening to drivers, and that the GR86 remains one of the last pure driver’s cars. Happy 86 Day!
Could I perhaps ask why you called the roads “B-roads”? I’m curious as to how that terminology got outside Britain, or if I naively assumed it was British in the first place!
It’s been in American English for at least 20 years, but I’ve never heard it used outside of car enthusiast circles. I heard it from either an old BMW owner that I interviewed, or Top Gear. Can’t remember now.