09 November 2012 Back to Car News
The Toyota GT86 will get a more powerful version.
Just like someone on every web forum out there says should happen.
But it's not what you're thinking. The car's chief engineer
Tetsuya Tada (pictured right) told us:
"I think 300bhp with a turbo and 200g/km of CO2 would be tasteless in this day and age. And a turbo would mean the loss of the GT86's uniqueness.
" That's pretty definite then.
"We're looking for a surprise,
" Tada says. "Something unique. For example, a hybrid motor.
" Yes, he knows your face will fall. But he's not talking about the usual Toyota hybrid system (THS),
found on the Prius and other hatchbacks.
"The THS is good in town, but not for sporty driving or high-speed motorways."
"So we're looking at a next-generation hybrid.
More like the TS030 Le Mans Prototype. We're looking into that possibility."
This is good.
Tetsuya always said the GT86 wouldn't be a proper sports car without a high-revving engine.
That's why he developed a special (and expensive) version of Toyota's direct-injection
system that could handle high rpm. You can imagine
his distaste for the low-revving Atkinson cycle engines of the THS hybrids.
Never mind their CVTs and their heavy NiMH batteries.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/toyota-gt86-kers-2011-11-9