Jt On Cars — Issue #1: GR86, Huracan Tecnica & GT4RS
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Toyota GR86 is coming to the UK!!!!!!!
Join the club if you are like me who loves driving but think the current market is too expensive for enthusiasts. I love a good Porsche GT4 or a GT3 touring but hey I don’t have nearly a 100 grand hidden under my mattress. So I spend most of my time watching people drive these absolute beauts on youtube. But apparently, Toyota (and Subaru) have come to our rescue once again. Remember when they came up with a co-developed car called Toyota GT86 or Subaru BRZ? It was a perfect recipe with around 200 bhp all of them sent to the rear wheels through a manual gear box. This car is nearly 10 years old now and was on sale till last year (if I am not mistaken). It had very minor mid-cycle updates and had become a hit atleast among petrol heads.
Porsche usually does the naturally aspirated manual transmission rear wheel drive sports cars that are fun to throw around but as I said earlier, most of us can’t afford a Porsche but then the GT86 was a 10 year old car which could have done with a power boost. This was an uncomfortable place to be. Toyota (and Subaru) have come to the rescue once again with the new GR86. It is the successor to wear the 86 badge on Toyota’s side and the GR means it has had input from Gazoo Racing, the motorsport arm of Toyota. This new beauty still retains the boxer engine layout but has been given a capacity increase to 2.4 litres which results in 232bhp and 250Nm torque. it is still naturally aspirated as a turbo would increase the centre of gravity or something of the car. The power boost is good and it still retains the RWD format with options to have either a manual or automatic gearbox.
It basically ticks all the boxes and would fill that Porsche sized hole in our lives. UK will only get a single trim with the choice of transmissions. This trim will have 18 inch black wheels, dual climate control, smartphone preparation and heated seats. The other fabulous news is that the manual version is priced at £29995 which is a bargain considering the crazy prices at the moment. Go grab one as soon as possible because the GR86 will only be in sale in the UK for 2 years due to the changes in safety and emission regulations. Don’t think for a second that there is something wrong with the car. The roof of the car will need a redesign to meet the regulations as technically this is still a 10 year old car design and Toyota don’t think it is worth it.
Goldilock of Huracans has been announced
Lamborghini Huracan is considered to be one of the best V10s that is available in the marketright now. It could also be the last mass produced V10 from Lamborghini to come out of Sicily. The 2019 facelifted Huracan came in 3 different packages which packed the 5.2 litre V10. The Huracan Evo had all wheel drive, Hurcan Evo RWD had the the rear wheel drive and the Huracan STO was the track weapon which had alot of carbon fibre and weird aero bits. The problem was that the RWD evo had a detuned engine which only put out 600 bhp compared to the AWD and STO engines which produced 631 bhp. The power difference might not be much but the STO had better brakes, better brake cooling, rear wheel steering and torque vectoring. So if you wanted a RWD huracan you either went for the mellow of the offerings or go all out crazy on the STO. So there was a gap that needed to be filled by people who could get picky with their supercars.
This need for a goldilock Huracan between the evo and the STO has been satisfied by the new Huracan Tecnica. It has all the performance and electronics of the STO with subtler aero kit and a small rear wing. The rear wing alone provides 35% more downforce compared to the evo which on its own stands to reason for the additional 31 bhp.
The car has not hit the roads yet. But I will keep you updated on it when the first review hits the internet and might even get to see one in person and experience it.
Did you order a GT4 RS???
When the Cayman GT4 first launched, it settled into a comfortable spot below the GT3 lineup. GT4 has been praised for it’s performance, agility and driveability. It is one of those driver’s car that comes out of Stuttgart and sweeps you off your feet. The only difference was that it is mid engined compared to the GT3 and is churns 100 bhp less. It had a 4 litre flat 6 which revved up to 7600 rpm compared to the same engine configuration on the GT3 which revved up to 9000 rpm. Last november, Porsche brought a special car to the LA motorshow. It was an RS version of the GT4. It was still mid engined rear wheel drive sports car but focused towards the track. It used the same engine as a the GT3 and brought in 493bhp which is only 9 shy of the GT3. This track weapon had a huge wing, light weight bonnets and aero bits through out the body.
The car still retained all the best things about the GT4 and increased the power figures and better aero. Even though the engine is the same as the GT3, the mid engine configuration resulted in the drop in power due to the difference in intake and exhaust system which is barely noticeable. The car was talked about as a GT3 rival but it is not. Both cars might share the same engine but the similarity stops there. This car will be a step down on the hierachy from the GT3 RS which is expected later this year.
Being a track focused car with the same engine as the GT3 would mean that the GT4RS would have lapped around Nurburgring quicker but it did not do that. The GT3 lapped the ring in 6:55.2 while the GT4 RS did it in 7:04.5 which is 9 seconds slower. Andreas Preuninger (head of GT Cars at Porsche) explained the reasons for the GT3 being quicker to several factors. The GT3 has rear axle steering as it is rear engine and the GT4 RS doesn’t have it as it is not required but that could save a few seconds. the double wishbone front suspension on the GT3 is not present in the GT4 RS and the electric limited slip diff in the GT3 is replaced with a mechanical one. The other reasons included a larger rear wing on the GT3 creating more downforce and bigger tyres on the rear engined car.
So, even though both the cars share the same engine, it doesn’t mean they are equal on a lap. The GT4 RS could still sit next to the GT3 in a garage and be used for a totally different purpose.
Thank you for reading my very first issue. I will be putting out such updates through a newsletter regularly and would love for you to engage with me. Any feedback is appreciated.
THANK YOU!!!!
