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2022 Toyota GR 86 Discards AE86 Heritage, Goes for Virtual MR2 Spyder Vibes

Everybody seems to have eagerly awaited the 2022 Subaru BRZ sibling's arrival, the second-generation 2022 Toyota GR 86. And while the former got a few starring roles in real life, the ultra-fresh alternative is currently making the rounds across the virtual realm above all else.
2022 Toyota GR 86 Cabrio render by X-Tomi Design 15 photos
Photo: X-Tomi/Facebook
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Although neither the 2022 Subaru BRZ nor the newer 2022 Toyota GR 86 have so far reached the U.S. dealerships, thanks to Travis Pastrana’s Gymkhana 2020 takeover, the Subie did get the chance to shine in a minor starring role in the real world.

As for the Toyota alternative, for now, all we can do is settle for the Japanese-language (thanks YT for those auto-translated closed captions) track comparison with the BRZ to satisfy our craving for lightweight, boxer-equipped, affordable sports cars.

Or we can always dream alongside the pixel masters from the virtual realm because, as it turns out, there’s an abundance of GR 86 alternatives that popped up in a matter of hours since the official introduction at home in Japan. That begs a rhetorical question: is the GR 86 ultra-hot or such a big miss that people try to come up with so many different takes?

No matter the answer, we’ve seen the third global Gazoo Racing representative (after the A90 GR Supra and the stunning GR Yaris pocket rocket) adopt the widebody tuner route, morph into a low-key C8 Corvette mid-engine alternative, and even turn into a practical daily driver as a shooting brake.

The latter comes from prolific pixel master X-Tomi Design, which actually designed our favorite rendering of the bunch, also presenting the GR 86 as a convertible while at it. That’s probably never going to happen, but we very much like the idea of toning down the AE86 Corolla heritage for a healthy dose of MR2 Spyder influence, even though it doesn't seem to come with a midship engine for complete DNA transfer.

Although it probably doesn’t make sense from the economic standpoint, we’d very much love to see Toyota (and Subaru, of course) come up with a direct competitor to Mazda’s legendary MX-5.


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Editor's note: Gallery also includes official images of the 2022 Toyota GR 86 and 2022 Subaru BRZ.

About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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