Toyota is joining the World Rally Championship with
an R3-spec version of its sports car. The race-ready GT86 is not only more
powerful, but lighter too, and it just fired up our enthusiasm toward a faster
road-going version.
The GT86 CS-R3 showcases a set of
white, multi-spoke, rally-spec wheels, while a couple of cameras replace the
traditional side-view mirrors. The latter will reappear on the final version of
the rally car, most likely with an aerodynamically optimized shape. Rounding
off the Japanese rally car is a roof-mounted scoop, also a novelty when
compared to the road-legal version. However, the piece appears to be missing
from the final version of the coupe, at least based on the renderings provided by
Toyota.
Interior details are not yet available, but the
preliminary photos reveal a stripped-out cockpit that no longer features a rear
bench. Expect most of the convenience features to disappear too, and the
regular seats to be replaced by bolstered, FIA-compliant units with multi-point
harnesses.
The GT86 rally car is powered by the same 2.0-liter,
four-cylinder boxer engine found in the regular sports car. However, ECU
updates provided by the company’s motorsport arm and new, racing exhaust system
and manifold enable it to crank out between 240 and 250 horsepower. That’s 40
to 50 ponies more than the standard GT86, which comes with 200 horses and 151
pound-feet of twist on tap.
Toyota also dropped the regular transmission in
favor of a sequential shift six-speed with a short final drive and fitted the
GT86 with a limited-slip differential with variable ramp settings. A racing
clutch and lightweight flywheel complete the updates list for the drivetrain.
The engine draws its juice from a 75-liter safety cell.
Like any other rally car the GT86 CS-R3 comes with
suspension kits developed for both tarmac and gravel racing. Larger, updated
brakes have also been developed to provide aggressive stopping power, while
enduring the tremendous stress of a full World Rally Championship event.
