With a bigger engine, more power, and a welcome dab of refinement, the Toyobaru’s second round is a victory lap.
“Designed by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts.” That’s how Toyota’s marketing people talk about the 2022 Toyota GR 86, and I can’t think of a more apt description. It takes a lot—or at least a CEO who really, really thinks cars should be fun to drive—to drop a brand-new, affordable, naturally aspirated, manual-equipped, rear-wheel-drive sports car in 2021 when the whole market is dominated by… well, everything but that stuff.
If you ask people at Toyota, this wouldn’t have happened if the top guy, I’d-rather-be-at-the-track-than-the-boardroom CEO Akio Toyoda, hadn’t pushed for it. That hype is real. Continue reading.