2024 Toyota GR86 Trueno Edition Tips Its Hat to Initial D Subculture

• Toyota is revamping its Gazoo Racing (GR) lineup for 2024, and the GR86 gets major upgrades plus a new limited edition trim.

• Known as the GR86 Trueno Edition, Toyota is honoring its AE86 Corolla Sport GT-S liftback, known as the Sprinter Trueno in Japan, with key performance upgrades.

• Bigger brakes, ZF Sachs dampers, and 18-inch wheels make up the mechanical differences while a Trueno visuals package gives this GR86 an Initial D look.

A good sports car doesn't have to be complex. The conventional wisdom as it relates to canyon carving (or your region's driving geography of choice) is that an eager chassis, sharp steering, and biting brakes are all you need—horsepower be damned.

This enthusiast ethos has been popularized (or immortalized depending on whom you ask) by Shuichi Shigeno's infamous, 55-million copies sold manga known as Initial D.

Blending fictional characters with real-life Japanese street racing, touge drifting, and tofu delivering, the craze surrounding Initial D has spawned over a dozen TV series, movies, and arcade games, in addition to its hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide. And beyond fandom for characters like Takumi Fujiwara, the real stars of the show were the cars, specifically the 1984-1987 Corolla Sport GT-S liftback, or Sprinter Trueno as it was known in Japan.

Now, in honoring the principles of sports car ownership, Toyota is revamping its GR86 with a Trueno badge and some performance upgrades to boot for 2024. Officially launched as the 2024 Toyota GR86 Trueno Edition, the company is explicitly tipping its hat to the subculture that supported the brand's often strange but always revered 20th-century performance vehicle programs. And Toyota even got the paint job right too!

Representing a modern front-engine, rear-drive equivalent of the AE86 generation Corolla, the 2024 GR86 packs a 2.4-liter flat-four-cylinder engine that delivers 228 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. A 6-speed manual transmission is standard on the Trueno edition, as is a Torsen limited-slip rear differential, though the model is offered with a 6-speed torque converter automatic as well. We're not manual transmission purists around here, but getting one of these 860 limited edition units with an automatic would be heresy.

Barely tipping the scales at 2811 pounds, it's not hard to see why the GR86 makes such a great sports car and spiritual successor for Toyota. But the Trueno edition isn't just some decals and fresh paint. Toyota has made strides to improve the driving experience of the GR86 Trueno with an additional performance package.

Adding a pair of nitrogen-filled ZF Sachs dampers, Toyota engineers wanted a more planted experience from the traditionally tail-happy GR86. Additionally, a set of Brembo brake calipers have been added to the GR86, with the prerequisite red four-piston calipers up front and two-piston calipers in the rear. This brake upgrade doubles the caliper size at the front and rear, but Toyota also installed slightly larger brake rotors on both ends as well. Notably, Toyota says 2022 and 2023 model year GR86 owners can purchase and retrofit this performance pack to their cars, too.

Visually, the GR86 Trueno gets a set of model-specific black metallic finished 18-inch, 10-spoke aluminum alloy wheels, as well as a black wrapped hood, black Trueno Edition side panel graphic, and black painted duckbill spoiler. Inside, prospective owners will be happy to see a few Trueno touches, including a decal on the shift knob as well as a unit number plaque.

Toyota has yet to reveal the price of the GR86 Trueno, though its Premium trim level and performance pack upgrades suggest it could be priced around $38,000. Interested buyers won't have to wait too long either, as Toyota says the limited edition models will go on sale this winter. And we won't be surprised if all 860 units sell out immediately.

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