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.
This version of the 86 is only offered in one color: black.
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.
Lots of red trim is used to differentiate the TRD Special Edition.
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.
