I really wish Toyota would stop renaming its compact sports car (the coupe formerly known as GT86, previously known as Scion FR-S, is now “GR86“) but I’m stoked to see it’s being relaunched with a new look. The styling’s great too – feels like a slightly tidier rendition of the outgoing car. I only have one note: Put a spelled-out T-O-Y-O-T-A emblem on the back.
The flying T (or whatever Toyota’s icon is actually called) doesn’t look bad, per se. But I’ve been big into old text-based emblems being retrofitted onto newer cars, sports cars especially, ever since I saw somebody put “H-O-N-D-A” letters from a CB motorcycle on the trunk of an S2000. I wish I had a picture but alas; you’ll have to trust my quick and dirty Photoshop of this treatment on the GR86 to decide if you’re with me or not:
I just think it’s classy and clean. Maybe it’d be nicer with a slightly more ornate script than what I could digitally pull off the grille of an old Land Cruiser, but you see what I’m getting at. I could actually imagine Toyota messing with this, not because somebody over there might see this and get inspired (though that would be amazing) but letter-embleming is kind of a trend in car design right now. Here are a couple more non-faked examples:
At the risk of sounding like a dumb American who just wants more chrome on everything, I actually think the “R-O-G-U-E” and “S-U-B-U-R-B-A-N” lettering on those respective cars actually look kind of regal. But if you’re not into it, here’s a GR86 palate cleanser:
Shucks, it really is a handsome car. I’m still holding out for a new Z myself, at least to see what retail prices end up looking like, but the new Toyobaru has a great look and I’m grateful the model has yet to die. We need to enjoy anachronistic cars with three pedals like this while we can – we might very well see the end of low-dollar rear-drive manual-shift sports cars in our lifetime so here’s hoping the Toyobaru population remains strong. And while we’re on the subject of keeping these cars moving, check out our Toyota 86/Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ Car Autance if you’re looking to buy or maintain an earlier one!
