The 2022 Toyota GR86 will always raise eyebrows at the BRZ’s smile

While we have already had a clear overview of the Subaru BRZ 2022Toyota played coy by revealing anything about its version of the boxer-powered rear-wheel-drive lightweight sports coupe. Thursday, Thanks again at the australian patent office we can at least look at the front bumper.

IP Australia has released Toyota-submitted design documents for a car’s front bumper, and that’s pretty much a dead ringtone for the upcoming 86, which some insiders say will be dubbed the GR86 in the future. . The design was filed on October 30, according to the ministry, and officially registered on January 18.

The overall shape of the headlights – or the bottom of them, anyway – appears to be the same between the two models, so the main changes are reserved for the grille and side vents.

You could always tell the first-gen BRZ from the 86 from a distance based on the orientation of the grille. If the car was smiling and had a mustache, you were looking at a Subaru; if she was frowning or looking slightly anxious, it was the Toyota. For what it’s worth, it looks like this mental shortcut will be applicable to the GR86 as well – except for the stache part. Neither will have a mustache this time around.

Since these cars have always been pretty much the same except for their badges, I find it interesting how some enthusiasts will prefer to think of them exclusively as Subarus or Toyotas. By the time the two came out, my high school and college friends tended to fall into the BRZ camp, as a lot of them were WRX dudes anyway. (Of course they were. They’re almost always that age.)

For me, Toyobaru’s “real” ancestor is the Corolla AE86, so I see the car as a Toyota first. Ultimately, it probably has more to do with the brand you love, and the fact that Toyota originally chose to list their version as a Scion probably didn’t help its credibility with some sects in the world. automotive community. But that’s in the past!

While we don’t have numbers for the GR86, expect it to match the BRZ’s 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque from the 2.4-liter flat-four that the two cars do. will share. There might be slight differences in weight – the first-gen BRZ was slightly heavier than the 86 – and the new BRZ is peaking at 2,815 pounds in its lightest version. Both cars will benefit from a lower center of gravity and a more rigid chassis, which will help them fly the way they do.