TRACK TAMING (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Toyota's classic back-to-basics sports car is the GR86. Jonathan Crouch takes it to the world's greatest race track.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 38

Toyota's GR racing brand was created on track. So where better to take the company's now almost legendary GR86 sports coupe? And if the track in question is the greatest of all time, then so much the better.

Backgroundword count: 81

What's the definition of a great affordable track car? Something with lots of power? 4WD? For us, it's neither. A great track car is simply one developed by drivers for drivers. It doesn't necessarily need a great deal of power - in fact, for a novice driver, it probably shouldn't have. Our definition of a great affordable track car is this one - Toyota's GR86. And to prove the point, we took it to the world's greatest racetrack, the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

Driving Experienceword count: 254

On the face of it, you wouldn't think the GR86 to be a natural fit for the Nordschliefe, 20.832km of 'Green Hell' with over 120 corners (90% of them almost blind) and 300 metres of elevation change. You'd think a little 2.4-litre naturally aspirated Boxer four-cylinder powerplant would get found out by that. But this track isn't just about how you take the straights; it's more about how you can take the turns. And in the right hands, a GR86 can take the turns very quickly indeed. I'm not entirely sure that mine are the right hands, but even I can feel the racing DNA in the way this car steers, rides and handles over the Nordschliefe's endless twisting turns and undulating gradients. There's 230bhp beneath my right foot - not a lot compared to the other machinery blowing past me but quite enough to deal with on the damp conditions of our test day. The engine note (enhanced by the cabin speakers) is surprisingly involving, as is the short throw for the 6-speed manual gearbox. It's all good. Through the tighter turns, I appreciated the extra traction from the Torsen limited-slip differential. And the feel from the electric power steering system which requires just 2.5 turns of GR86's three-spoke steering wheel to move from lock to lock, giving easy manoeuvrability. Performance is all you really need, 62mph from rest takes 6.3s; the quoted top speed is 140mph, but I wasn't brave enough to reach it on the damp condition of our test day.

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