2019 Toyota 86 TRD Edition adds performance and style
The special-edition 86 mirrors the mechanical parts of the Subaru BRZ's Performance package.
Want a little more performance from your sports coupe? If so, you'll be thrilled to hear that the 2019 Toyota 86 will answer that need with a new TRD Special Edition. Hailed by Toyota as "North America's highest performance 86 version," the new package is essentially a carbon copy of the mechanical bits that comprise the optional Performance package on the 86's twin, the Subaru BRZ.
Not that copying Subaru's homework is a bad thing. The 86 TRD Special Edition receives new Sachs suspension dampers, 18 by 7.5-inch wheels (up from 17 by 7 on the standard 86) and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 summer tires (instead of the standard Michelin Primacy HP rubber). Extra braking capability comes courtesy of Brembo brakes, with 12.8-inch front discs and 12.4-inch rear ones. Based on our experience with the aforementioned BRZ Performance, that should make the 86 TRD more entertaining on public streets and a tad more capable when driven on the track.
To ensure your cars-and-coffee compatriots know it's the limited-run model, the 86 TRD wears a new TRD-specific front fascia, side skirts, rear diffuser, spoiler and TRD-specific exhaust. The coupe comes painted in "raven" (aka black) only and has a neat, heritage-inspired yellow-orange-red hockey-stick decal on its front fenders. Interior dress-up includes an eye-searing red-and-black steering wheel, red-and-black seat upholstery, embroidered TRD logos and plenty of red contrast stitching.
Power comes from the 86's standard 2.0-liter, flat-four engine, with 205 horsepower and and 156 pound-feet of torque if you choose the six-speed manual transmission -- which is the only choice for the TRD Special Edition. Opt for a six-speed automatic gearbox on the regular Toyota 86 or 86 GT and your engine puts out 200 horsepower and 151 pound-feet.
With its genuine performance upgrades, this special-edition 86 is far more exciting to us enthusiast drivers than the car's last limited-run spec, the 860 Edition. That was more about visual tweaks and extra interior equipment (like a color trip computer) than going faster.
Toyota will sell just 1,418 units of the TRD Special Edition, each for $32,420. That's compared to the 2018 BRZ Performance package's starting price of $29,640. The 2019 Toyota 86 goes on sale in August.