Toyota Covers Another GR86 Engine Blown on Track

The Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ twins are some of the most engaging sports cars on the market. Combine that with the broad affordability of the two offerings, and it's no surprise that we see so many of these things at local HPDE and track day events. That said, the twins have found themselves in the news cycle after footage of an on-track engine failure went viral in late May. Thanks to the team at Carscoops, we all have a bit more information regarding the automaker’s initial delay and ultimate acceptance of the owner’s warranty claims.

The footage in question was initially uploaded by YouTube user LUNK. It features them driving their manual 2022 Toyota GR86 around track. The footage is full of pretty typical HPDE day fare until around the 6-minute mark, when things get noisy inside the car. It’s clear at this point that the engine is in a bit of bother, with loud mechanical thrashing hinting at the serious damage. The driver continues on for about another minute or so, eventually working their way off of the track. It’s fair to argue that they should’ve exited to the trackside as soon as the engine began eating itself, but we’re not sure it really would’ve changed the outcome all that much. LUNK claims in the description of the video that their warranty claim was initially denied “due to the nature in which the vehicle was used”, and that Toyota would not even view the video in question. LUNK also claims to have completed an oil change the day before the event, but does not specify whether that was performed by Toyota.