Spied: New Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S Roadster Caught with its Top Down!

These are the first real-life pictures of the Toyota GT 86 / 86 Convertible, which was nabbed by Carmag reader and FT86 forum member Allan Findlay behind closed gates in Cape Town, South Africa.

Last month, Toyota told us that it plans to bring a thinly disguised concept version of the car named the 'GT86 Open Top' to next month's Geneva Motor Show to "gauge the public reaction to the idea of an open-top GT86", adding that "testing of a prototype version of the car is already underway".

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Jeremy Clarkson Approves of Toyota’s GT 86 in Third Episode of Top Gear’s 19th Season

He is probably the most famous car TV show host, a fame he has earned mostly due to his sometimes brilliant, other times controversial or plainly insulting remarks.

Either way, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t really mind and continues doing what he knows best. He is a hard man to please, too; just ask the automakers that have been on the receiving end of his comments about their cars.

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New Limited Run Toyota GT86 by TRD Priced from £31,495 in the UK

Toyota has announced pricing for its first ever UK model grade to feature genuine parts from its tuning and motorsports arm, the GT86 TRD (Toyota Racing Developments).

Only 250 examples of the car will be offered in the UK, with sales to start from 1 March at on-the-road prices set at £31,495 for the 6-speed manual model and £32,995 for the 6-speed automatic version.

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BRZ/86/FR-S Coupes Miss on New Forester’s 250HP Turbo'd Boxer Because it Won’t Fit!

Ever since the production version of the FT-Concept(s) came out in the form of the Toyota 86/GT 86, Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S trio of practically identical rear-wheel drive coupes, everyone has been asking whether a more powerful version, most likely with forced induction, was on the cards.

It made sense as Subaru, which has actually designed the all-new 2.0-liter normally aspirated flat-four with Toyota adding its unique fuel injection system, has a long history of using turbocharged boxer engines in its models.

The company’s engine design department project team manager, Nobuo Kyotoku, was asked the exact same question by WardsAuto, which named the 2.0L FA (the motor’s designation) one of its 10 best engines of the year. The answer was “yes” and “no”…

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Toyota's 400hp GT86 GT4 Racer Ready to hit the Track

This tasty looking Toyota GT86 (Scion FR-S in N.A.) is the first GT4 racing version of the Japanese brand's sports coupe and it will make its first appearance on the track at the European GT4 championship in May.

The white and blue-liveried  racecar was created by Buckingham-based motorsport outfit GPRM, with Nicholson McLaren developing its 2.0-liter direct injection and turbocharged four-cylinder ‘Boxer’ engine.

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Toyota Teases New FT-86 (Scion FR-S) Open Concept Ahead of Geneva Salon World Premiere

Ever since the launch of the Toyota 86 and GT 86, and its Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ twins, there have been many rumors swirling around about a convertible version(s) of the successful coupe series.

As it turns out, Toyota is indeed considering such a model and will actually display a concept version at next month's Geneva Motor Show.

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Three More Bespoke Toyota 86 Concepts from Modellista, TRD and Tom's

The Toyota 86, aka Scion FR-S in the U.S. and GT 86 outside Japan, is a hot item, especially in its home country. Gazoo Racing has very close ties with Toyota, so launching several concepts in cooperation with other tuners at the Tokyo Auto Salon was pretty much to be expected.

We'll begin with the 86 Modellista, which is all about the looks. Gazoo Racing says that the theme was developing a “futuristic sophisticated” concept.

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That's NATS! Japanese Students Turn Toyota 86 / Scion FR-S into an Audi R8 Lookalike

Ah, the creative minds from Japan's Nihon Automobile College (NATS) are back again to surprise us in more ways than one with their work at this week's 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon.

The creators of unusual concepts such as the kei-car version of the Honda NSX back in 2007, took the most popular car of this year's show, the Toyota 86, and turned it into something that resembles an Audi R8, which they then called the R86.

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What do You Think About Toyota's 86xStyle Cb Concept?

As Japan's most popular sports coupe, you won't be surprised to learn that this week's Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 will be flooded with all sorts of conceptual and production Toyota 86 (Scion FR-S in North America) tunes.

Previously, we reported about the twin-charged and sporty looking (with a hint of Supra, as noted by our readers), 'GRMN SPORTS FR Concept PLATINUM'.

Toyota's Original Accessory division has also worked its own vision of a customized version of the coupe dubbed 86xStyle Cb, said to mix classic and modern design elements.

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Meet the Toyota 86 / Scion FR-S GRMN SPORTS FR Concept PLATINUM [w/Video]

To be frank, Toyota got it right the first time with the original concepts for the 86 and the FR-S, but for one reason or another, it toned down the design of both models when time came to introduce the production variants.

While no doubt a success, many people have also complained about the lack of power from the Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter naturally aspirated flat four that generates 200-horses.

Toyota's racing and tuning partner Gazoo Racing is looking to rectify both issues with a new concept unveiled today at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 named the 'GRMN SPORTS FR Concept PLATINUM'.

On the styling front, Gazoo Racing devised a new front end with different headlamps, bumper and vented hood, while it also revised the rear end of the coupe that gains newly shaped taillights, a bumper with a diffuser and a re-sculptured boot lid housing a ginormous wing.

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Toyota and its Tuning Partners to Show at Least Five 86 / FR-S Concept Coupes at Tokyo Auto Salon

The much promising GRMN Sports FR Concept Platinum study with a twin-charged boxer engine pushing out 325-horses that we showed you earlier on Friday won't be the only concept version of the Toyota 86 (call it Scion FR-S if you live in North America) coupe to go on display at next month's Tokyo Auto Salon 2013.

Toyota and its tuning outfits will put on show 10 customized vehicles, half of which have already been confirmed to be based on the 86 – we wouldn't be the least surprised to learn that the rest of the models are also based on the brand's rear-wheel drive sports car.

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Gazoo Preparing Unique Looking Toyota 86 – Scion FR-S Concept with 325HP Twin-Charged Engine

The 2013 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon is turning out to be quite the event with many surprise debuts being announced as we approach closer to the grand opening that takes place on the weekend before the Detroit motor show in mid-January.

Today we learn that Toyota's motorsports and tuning partner Gazoo Racing will host the world premiere of a unique looking Toyota 86 coupe (Japan's version of the North American Scion FR-S) named the GRMN Sports FR Concept Platinum.

From the few cropped pictures we were able to get our hands on, we can see that the study will feature a unique body with different front and rear ends over the stock 86/FR-S along with some interior upgrades including bucket seats.

If the concept's name rings a bell, that's because under the sheetmetal, it shares its performance upgrades with the GRMN Sports FR Concept revealed at the Goodwood Festival in the UK this summer.

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European Car of the Year Short List with the 8 Finalists Revealed, Think You Can Pick the Winner?

After announcing the 34 nominees (38 if you include re-badged models like the Seat Toledo and Subaru BRZ) in late September, the organizing committee of the European edition of the Car of the Year award has now released the short list with the 8 finalists.

Normally, the short list includes 7 models, but due to the fact that two cars tied in the same position during the voting process, the committee increased the number of finalists to eight, just as it did in the 2007 edition of the award.

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Wald International Gets More Dramatic with New Toyota 86 / Scion FR-S Tune

As one of the hottest commodities in the affordable rear-wheel drive sports coupe segment, it's only to be expected that most aftermarket brands will develop not one, but many styling kits for the Toyota 86 and its siblings, the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ.

Earlier this year, Japanese tuner Wald International released its first take on the JDM Toyota 86 with an assortment of aero parts including a front half spoiler, side skirts, a duck tail-like boot lid spoiler, and two-tone alloy wheels.

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Abflug Adds Some Drama to Toyota 86 / Scion FR-S with New Supercharger Package

Here's one more tuning proposal for the Toyota 86 sports coupe, which is also known as the GT86 in Europe and Australia, and as the Scion FR-S in North America, that comes to us from the Land of the Rising Sun and Abflug.

The Japanese tuner's Spiral 86 performance and styling package will be formally introduced to the public at the 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon in mid-January, with sales to follow shortly thereafter.

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Mini-Me Toyota 86 / Scion FR-S Doesn't Make the Cut at D1GP Drift Event

If you're an avid fan of the art of drifting, you can't go wrong with Japan's D1 Grand Prix or D1GP professional drift series, unless, of course, you stumble upon the wrong car.

We can't say for sure if Gazoo Racing's mini-me Toyota 86 (JDM version of the Scion FR-S) was plagued by a technical problem or if there was nothing wrong and it simply played the role of the rodeo clown, but either way, we can't say we were impressed by its entrance on the track at a recent D1GP drift event in Odaiba, Japan.

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Aww, Isn't That Cute? Gazoo Builds a Real-Life Mini Version of the Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S

Anyone remember the craze over the comically-looking mini supercars created with the help of photoshop and various other image editing programs from a few years back?

After a gazillion different design concepts of any vehicle you can think of, the fad passed and we all moved on, or so we thought, as someone over at Toyota's racing and performance partner Gazoo recently had a moment of zen giving it another go.

Mind you, we're not talking about a digital rendering, but a real life, working model designed to look like the Toyota 86 (in case you forgot, it's marketed as the Toyota GT 86 in Europe and Scion FR-S in North America).

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Strange Toyota Promo Tells us How Wives React to Men Buying a GT 86

Emerging from the strange and dark depths of advertising is this new commercial for the Toyota GT 86, which is the same car as the North American market Scion FR-S, aimed towards European consumers.

The two-minute promotional clip is the creative work of advertising agency Happiness Brussels and was produced by Caviar, directed by Arnaud Uyttenhove, and filmed by Dimitri Karakatsanis.

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Toyota GT 86 aka the Scion FR-S Fails Miserably in Moose Test in Lithuania

We all know how the first generation of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and more recently, the Jeep Grand Cherokee (though, Chrysler did question the results), faired in the now infamous moose (or elk) test pioneered by Swedish car magazine Teknikens Värld.

While the Swedes emulated the presence of a moose with cones, in Lithuania (or so out tipster told us), a similar test was performed with a more pleasing to the eye replica of the large mammal.

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BRZ and FR-S Owners Complain About Rough Idle and Stalling Engines, Some Don't Like Remedy

The sports coupe jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru that entered production as the Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S and Toyota GT86 was one of the most awaited cars of the year, since it rekindled the fun to drive and relatively modestly priced niche.

Despite being a long time in the making, being teased by a series of concepts, the final product received positive reviews. The three models are nearly identical, featuring a 2.0-liter flat-four engine with both direct and indirect injection driving the rear-wheels via a six-speed manual or auto gearbox and a Torsen limited-slip differential.

The problem is that Subaru and Scion customers who rushed in to buy the first batch of cars are now complaining about rough idle and stalling issues.

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