Year 2013 represents a key turning point for Toyota from a global perspective. For almost the longest time, car enthusiasts have kinda forgotten the existence of Toyota and the company's illustrious forays into the motorsports circle during that heydays in the 80's and 90's. From the local Singapore context where majority of the cars experienced a short lifespan of just a decade, each year passed leaving fewer and fewer of Toyotas with motor-sports DNA on the roads. Mentioned the term Starlet, MR2, Celica, Corolla Trueno and I believed most people will look at you with eyes wide open....
Well, at least not to those who have watched the Initial D animes from yore (and I bet some still goes to the local video arcade from time to time to relieve their childhood memories playing those video box). If you happen to be one of those I am talking about, then the term Hachi Roku would be very much familiar to you. You would recall that panda-lookalike vehicle with the retrolicious flipped up head-lamps and boxy rear end that is meant to carry nothing but tofu within. Worshippers of the vehicle would be telling you how it's puny 1.6 power plant would be capable to go up against those cars with bigger hearts. Well, fast forward some 20+ years from the initial iteration of the Hachi Roku, and there you have yet another vehicle with the same name and drivetrain configurations. No.. this new 86 (as what I would like to call) doesn't feature in any comics or Jay Chou's flicks (well not discounting the fact that it wouldn't in the near future), nor does it have a big enough boot space to fit a tray of tofu in its rear. How it gets its 86 monika still seems odd to me... the closest co-relation really is that of the vehicle sporting some 86 insignia on its side fender.
The all-new 86 represents Toyota's effort to bring back a highly tunable yet affordable platform to the world. While the statement "the latest affordable Toyota's sports coupe" applies to most countries where the vehicle is sold in the guise of the FRS, BRZ or GT86, the same cannot be said of Singapore, where the vehicle would set you back a rather uncool S$160k++ just to have it on the road for the next 10 years. To further add salt to wound, the rather friendly government regulation dictates that potential buyers must fork out a princely sum of ~S$80K for the initial down payment. Noting the unfavourable situation, we do have our own enthusiasts who bite the bullet and throw in his/ her cash to own this piece of exclusive machinery (exclusive only in the Singapore context).
With most renowned international tuning brands anticipating the arrival of the 86, it is of no surprise that performance and aesthetic upgrades are made available even before he vehicle reaches the local shore. One of these brands is Toyota Racing Development or Toyota TechnoCraft, better known internationally as TRD. TRD, with its close association to Toyota Motors Corporation in Japan, am one of the forerunners in producing performance parts for the 86, and in Singapore we are kinda lucky to have the performance and aesthetic kit available from local distributor Borneo Motors Singapore.
Upon the arrival of the 1st vehicle, a full TRD aero-kit, together with TRD performance goodies such as the TRD Sports Air Filter, TRD Version R quad-muffler, a fully adjustable TRD suspension system, TRD by Brembo Monoblock brake system and 18" Forged TRD rims were promptly fitted to the vehicle. Some months down the road, more juicy bits were added on and these included the TRD front fender aero fins, TRD Bucket seats, TRD carbon fibre interior bits. A Valenti LED tail lamps further added more sportiness to the exterior.
For the performance enthusiasts craving more than just those mechanical add-ons, a UNICHIP Plug and Play piggyback has been added to give the vehicle more oomph. In this case, the piggyback found its application in an A/T vehicle and after installation, the vehicle was more responsive from move-off (UNICHIP promises improvement to the torque curve using its preset configuration to eliminate the vehicle's flat-spot between the rev-zone of 3K - 4.5K). Given its plug and play nature for the 86, no worries on voiding the factory warranty since everything can be reverted back to factory settings with minimal fuss. Of course, the UNICHIP can be utilized (with their own tuning software) should there be the need for custom tuning to accommodate more hard-core add-ons.
Where car prices in SG limits the take-up numbers of the Toyota 86, the situation differs vastly overseas (both in its Domestic Land of the Rising Sun as well as countries such as the US, Europe & Australia), where the 86 is gaining in popularity especially amongst professional tuning & aerokit companies.
Stay tuned to Part 2 for the next overview of performance & aesthetic creations that have been made available for the 86.
