New Toyota GT 86 with the Toyota Sports 800
Toyota may not have the history that European car makers enjoy, but they can now claim a genesis of almost 50 years. Which explains why Toyota has chosen to hark back to their first car – the Sports 800 – in this latest video of the new GT 86.
The Toyota Sports 800 was Toyota’s first production car and went in to production in 1965. It had an 800cc petrol engine with dual carbs and up to 44bhp. Just enough to scoot around Japan’s growing cities and even reach up to 100mph on the open road.
Just 3,131 Sport 800s were built between 1965 and 1969, and none were exported. A small number of LHD 800s were built, but they were for the Okinawa region which was under US control after WWII and drove on the right, rather than export.
The visual comparison between the tiny Sports 800 and the new GT 86 is startling, especially as the new GT 86 is actually a compact coupe by modern standards. What we get, apart from the visual contrast between the 800 and the GT 86, is footage of the new GT 86 testing before launch, out on track and winter testing too.
We’d rather have seen a contrast between Toyota’s first halo sport car – the 2000 GT – than the Sports 800. Although the 2000 GT was a high-end sports car from Toyota (and featured in the Bond film You Only Live Twice) and came with a 2.0 litre straight six (same size as the GT 86 – but with two more cylinders).
Still, a nice bit of visual with the GT 86 strutting its stuff and the Sports 800 showcased.
Toyota GT 86 Photo Gallery
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(13 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)
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