Report: Next-Gen Toyota GR86 Will Get A 3-Cyl Turbo Hybrid Mill

Rumours have sparked that the next-gen Toyota GR86 will get a semi-electrified 3-cylinder turbocharged mill. (Photo credit: BestCarWeb Japan)

Almost three years after making their global debuts, the Toyota GR86 and its Subaru counterpart, the second-gen BRZ, are both due for an upgrade. With both models recently axed from the European market, several rumours have suggested that these beloved sportscars will feature some part of electrification for their next-gen redux.

As reported by CarScoops, the next-gen GR86 will be a standalone model without a Subie counterpart. But more importantly, said report also suggests that the new GR86 will boast a partially-electrified powertrain setup, consisting of a three-cylinder turbocharged mill paired with a series-parallel hybrid (HEV) system.

Reports suggested that the next-gen will use the same 1.6-litre 3-cyl turbocharged unit as the GR Corolla/GR Yaris plus a hybrid system

While said turbo-hybrid GR86 is reportedly set to debut later in 2025, some say this turbo-hybrid will consist of a small 1.4-litre turbocharged mill, while others indicate that the GR86 will instead get the same 1.6-litre 3-cyl turbocharged unit used on both the GR Corolla and GR Yaris.

Rendered images of the next-gen Toyota GR86. (Photo credit: Best Car Web)

Of both conjectures, Japanese automotive portal Best Car Web reported that the latter scenario is more probable since Toyota already has a 1.6-litre 3-cyl mill under its disposal. With said mill already churning up to 300 HP on both the aforementioned rally-rep hot-hatches, we can expect the partial electrification to boost its output further beyond the 300-HP mark.

More details on its hybrid system, said report says that the new GR86 will incorporate the same HEV setup found on the new Land Cruiser 250, implying that the new sportscar will maintain a front-engined rear-wheel drive (RWD) layout. This could also mean that the next-gen GR86 will retain both its six-speed automatic and manual options.

Should Toyota really decide to use the three-pot turbocharged mill on the new GR86, this may mark an end to the marque’s partnership with Subaru and ultimately bring an end to the BRZ nameplate. Both Toyota and Subaru have partnered in developing the GR86 and BRZ, starting with the first-gen models back in 2012, in a bid to further cut down on the cost of developing a low-volume sportscar that boasts a very small profit margin.

As a refresher, both the current-gen Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ underpin the same Subaru Global Platform chassis that boasts 50% more rigidity compared to the previous models. Powertrain-wise, both models are powered by a 2.4-litre 4-cyl naturally-aspirated ‘Boxer’ mill rated at 234 HP and 250 NM, which is then mated to either a six-speed automatic or manual transmission.

We have tested the new Toyota GR86 in its glorious 6MT version earlier this year!

On the topic of the GR86, we actually took the manual variant of this sportscar for a test last month, so stay tuned here at Caricarz.com to read our take on this beloved sportscar, which will be out very soon…