Toyota’s GR brand rolls out partially upgraded GR86, with Japan orders opening Aug. 28

GAZOO Racing, Toyota’s in-house performance brand, unveiled a partially upgraded GR86 sports coupe and said Toyota vehicle dealers across Japan will begin accepting customer orders on August 28. The refreshed model is positioned as a continuation of the Toyota 86 lineage, which launched in 2012 and evolved into the GR86, a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive car designed to deliver a “nimble” driving feel.

Toyota said the GR86 has been a top seller within the GR lineup since its launch in 2021, with about 110,000 units delivered as of the announcement. The company described the car as appealing to a broad range of drivers who want the “thrill” of a sports-car layout, emphasizing the steering and response characteristics that distinguish the GR86 from mainstream compact vehicles.

On the outside, one of the most visible changes is the return of “Solid Gray,” a color that was previously available on the Toyota 86 for roughly half a year starting in 2017. Toyota said the color is now back for the upgraded GR86, tying the refresh to the retro-leaning appeal that has long surrounded the 86 nameplate in Japan.

Inside, the RZ trim gets changes that Toyota says raise perceived cockpit quality. Switches have been redesigned with improved grip and finished in low-reflectivity “cast iron black.” Toyota also described a black-and-red interior scheme, available as a factory-installed option, with red accents that wrap around the driver and are meant to echo the look of later Toyota 86 models.

Toyota’s engineering updates focus heavily on how the car responds at the limit and in everyday low-grip conditions. The company said professional race drivers, in-house evaluation drivers and engineers worked together on circuit and test-course testing to fine-tune throttle control, electric power steering behavior and shift operability. Toyota said revised throttle settings are aimed at delivering a more intuitive feel when exiting corners and on low-friction surfaces such as wet or snow-covered roads, with a “better linear response” between pedal input and acceleration.

For steering, Toyota said modifications to the electric power steering control are informed by experience from the Super Taikyu Series, a Japanese touring-car endurance competition. Toyota said the updated system is designed to eliminate wobble in high-speed corners and on rough surfaces, improving line tracing and driver confidence while retaining the GR86’s hallmark low-center-of-gravity responsiveness.

On manual-transmission models, Toyota said the chamfer on the shift interlock has been widened by 0.5 mm to improve downshifting operability when going from fifth to fourth gear. The company said the geometry change supports smoother, less stressful transitions during hard corner entry by helping deceleration flow into turn-in without abrupt interruption.

Safety and driver-assistance technology is also part of the refresh. Toyota said the EyeSight driver-assist system has been upgraded to a triple-camera configuration, moving from a prior two-camera layout. The company said the enhanced setup combines wide-angle stereo cameras with an ultra-wide-angle monocular camera, targeting a broader field of view designed for safe driving across a wide range of conditions while accounting for the low stance of a sports car.

Toyota also pointed to motorsports access for customers. It said the GR86 Cup Car Basic competition model for the GR86/BRZ Cup one-make race series is now offered with an automatic transmission, giving buyers a choice of drivetrains that Toyota said could widen the audience for sporty driving and bring more people into its racing ecosystem.

The upgraded GR86, in the exterior “Solid Gray” specification, will be on display from August 6 through September 7 at the Toyota Motor Corporation showroom in Midland Square in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Toyota said the vehicle will also appear at the September 12 “FUJI 86/BRZ STYLE 2026” event at Fuji Speedway, where GR plans 86-related activities including original merchandise, drifting demonstrations and test drives, with additional details expected via a dedicated Japanese-language event website. What remains unclear from the announcement is the full packaging of the lineup, including which markets beyond Japan will receive the updated configuration and whether Toyota will publish pricing or performance figures alongside the order start date.