In June - Toyota 86, yours for RM133.34 (T&C applies)

Interested yet? Want to know the Terms and Condition (T&C)? Well, you can have it, as long as you have to assemble it yourselves, and you'll need to persuade Doraemon to lend you the  "terowong mengecil" to 1/24th of your original height. Yes guys, it is a Tamiya newly launched product in Japan, priced at 3,360yen. For your information, 3,360 yen is no big deal as it is equivalent to a few magazines price only, refer HERE.

Tamiya has launched both of the Japanese drifting twin, the 86 and Subaru BRZ. While the Toyota version will be on the shelf in June, the Subaru equivalent will be available a month later. Measuring 177mm in length, both car differs only slightly. Just like their real world car.

For those unfamiliar with Tamiya cars, you'll need to cut the component yourselves, glue them together, paint it and finish them to perfection. I once got the Nissan Fairlady Nismo, bought by my wife during her Japan's business trip, I took six intermittent month to complete it!

Small gallery after the jump, courtesy of Carwatch. Now when is my next trip to Japan?

Subaru BRZ close-up - the Hachiroku twin

The car that we thought to be a close sibling of the Toyota 86 turn out to be, well, a twin instead of a cousin. The difference apart from different bumpers, is negligible. Even the squared-off rear lights from the LA motorshow concept also did not make it to the final production.

The front end of the Subaru BRZ is differentiated from Toyota 86 by the shape of the front bumper. Where the 86 bumper was characterized by large air intake with scorpion-inspired outlines, the BRZ front bumper is more boxier in appearance, consistent with current Subaru design language on the new Impreza et al. The triangulated fog lamp housing of the 86 is replaced with a squared-off housing. The fender garnish is different from the Toyota 86 with more visible black element with centre bar.

The rear end appeared similar too. The squared off tail lamp of the concept car has been replaced by the Toyota 86 exact item. Even the trunk lind/license plate garnish is carried over too. While this car is far from looking dowdy, but some Subaru-ism would be much welcome. More after the jump.

Toyota 86 revealed ahead of Tokyo Motorshow

The eagerly waited Toyota 'Hachiroku' has been revealed ahead of the Tokyo Motorshow next week. The front-engined, rear drive sportscar is named differently between the Japan and European market. In Japan, it will simply be called Toyota 86, while in the Europe it will be named Toyota GT 86. The GT moniker denotes the inspiration in developing the 'Hachiroku', starting from the Toyota S800, a boxer two-cylinder with FR layout from 1962.  The line continues with the 2000GT in 1965 which features svelte looking body styles and powered by 2.0l  straight-6 developed in collaboration with Yamaha. The Celica generation arrived in 1971 and then Toyota Supra is also the main actor in Toyota sports car play house where all its four generation is FR-layout and powered by straight-6 engine. The real descendant to the 'Hachiroku'  however, is the Toyota Levin or Corolla GT AE86. The new Toyota 86 lives in the same principle of front-engine, rear-wheel drive package, compact dimensions, light weight, impeccable balance and superior power-to-weight ratio to deliver a superior sheer excitement and capturing the fundamental joy of driving.

Toyota 86 measures 4,240mm long, 1,285mm high and 2,570mm wide,  and rides on 2,570mm wheelbase.Both the powertrain and the driving position have been set as low and as far back as possible to achieve the best balance: the car has a near-perfect 53:47 front-to-rear weight distribution. The flat-four engine format and the driver's hip point – the lowest of any current Toyota production model – together give the 86 an ultra-low centre of gravity, at just 475mm height.

The GT 86 makes the most of a light kerb weight, making it easy for drivers to exploit its nimble handling and cornering poise. The suspension features MacPherson struts at the front and double wishbones at the rear. The car rides on 18" wheels (17" on European model)  and is fitted with ventilated disc brakes all around.

The car is powered by Subaru-sourced 2.0l flat-4 engine whereby Toyota has added their own D-4S system where the cylinder head are designed to feature both direct injection and port injection for the in cylinder combustion. The combustion cylinder is perfect square 86 by 86mm. It has a high 12.5:1 compression ratio, increasing power and torque across a wide range of engine speeds without sacrificing fuel efficiency and environmental performance. The headline figure is 197bhp@6000 rpm and 205Nm@6600rpm. Drive is channeled to the rear wheel via either short-throw 6 speed manual or 6 speed automatic transmission with paddle shift.

The exterior styling of the Toyota 86 was previewed by the Toyota FT86 iteration 2, where it has eschewed the original concept car svelte futuristic lines. The changes were outlined as the results of driving development where the car body configuration does play a big role in driving experience. It features an evocative and expressive lines, especially in expressing the lower part of the car with huge grille.  The lower grille's "scorpion" look gives the 86 a more powerful appearance.

Inside the cabin, every control surface has been arranged to make the driving experience natural, instinctive and rewarding. The 365mm steering wheel diameter is the smallest steering ever fitted to the any car bearing Toyota nameplate. The meter binnacle is 3-item type with large rev-counter dominating the centre item. Elsewhere in the cabin, the 2+2 gets an all-black headlining, aviation-style rocker switches and lightweight, aluminium pedals. The JDM car features red interior detailing too. More detail and galleries after the jump.

Subaru BRZ Concept STi showcased in LA

Subaru showcased its BRZ sports coupe in the LA motorshow. The car is essentially a thinly disguised production version of Subaru new sports car. The BRZ is co-developed with Toyota FT86 and both cars are expected to bow in at Tokyo Motorshow in mass-production form. 

The main difference with the Toyota FT86 is limited to different bumper design for both front and rear. The headlamp is shared, however, the rear light is different from FT86 as it is more boxy in appearance. The LA showcar also gets a massive rear wing. Both FT86 and BRZ has been tested by several journalist and all are single-voiced in praising the accessible fun handling of both. 

Subaru BRZ Concept STi broke cover ahead of LA Motorshow

Subaru BRZ STi broke the cover ahead of its unveiling at LA Motorshow on November 16. This is the thinly disguised production car that will be revealed alongside its cousin Toyota FT86 in Tokyo Motorshow in December. We finally gets to see the bodied car after a series of wireframe concept shown many months back.

The car basic shape is identifiable as FT86-derived, but the detailing is more edgy. At the front, apart from similar headlamp, the bumper detailing is more angular compared to triangular-themed FT86. LED strips are featured too on the outer edge air intake. 

At the back, similar hard-edge theme continues. Where the FT86 gets a tear-drop sideways rear light, the BRZ rear light is more angular. It appears wider as the lights are narrower and does not extend to the trunklid panel as they are on FT86. By altering the bumper design (especially upper part that intersect with rear light, essentially form rear light housing), the rear end has been re-created to be more mascular. The diffuser-style lower garnish complete the rear makeover. 

More after the jump.

Toyota FT86 - specs, photo & driving impression

In a series of controlled leak, the information about the forthcoming Toyota FT86 is gradually increasing. From the latest spec, we know that the FT86 will come in two guises, the standard and high-spec. In addition to that, a "Customized" grade will be made available too, essentially a stripped-out version of FT86.

All versions are set to have 2.0l flat-4 producing 197bhp@7000rpm and 205Nm@6600rpm of power and torque. The front-engined rear drive layout vehicle will channelled the drive via 6MT or 6AT gearbox. No performance data is available yet. However, in light of 'green' era, the absence of performance figure is replaced with fuel consumption figure, 13km/l for the base model and 12.4km/l for the top model, drawn from 50l fuel tank capacity.

The Toyota FT86 is 4,240mm long, 1,775mm wide and just 1,285mm tall. The squat appearance is further enhanced with 2,570mm giving it a short overhang, particularly at the rear. The weight for low-spec manual is respectable 1,210 kg while the stripped Customized spec weights in at 1,190kg. The fully equipped high-spec is heavier at 1,250kg for 6AT version. The manual version is 20kg lighter. The manual version gets LSD for both version while for the automatic geared, only the high-spec is equipped with such device. Both version however gets the VSC.

Suspension system comes with strut at the front and double wishbone for the rear suspension. Front brake is ventilated disc at the front and rear, except the low-spec variant make do with solid disc at the back. Tyres is 215/45 R17 for the high-spec while the cheaper version is equipped with 205/55 R16. Lightweight version gets  steel rim of 16".

The High-Spec FT86 cabin

In terms of equipment level, all version gets a standard dual front airbags and curtain airbags. The high-spec model gets additional features such as HID headlight, LED DRL,  leather-wrapped steering, paddle shift for 6AT, auto air-con, 6 speakers audio system, metallic and carbon fibre insert for the cabin and the option of alcantra upholstery on the top of higher-grade fabric seats. More photos and details after the jump.