FT-86 to be named FR-S...

[doctor ed]

lol

"Australia is expected to be the fourth-largest market for the 86, behind the United States, Japan and Europe."

are there any countries left after that? applaud the journo for his oz-centric effort though

[Babalouie]

In fact ... what was the last car that became popular because the bandwagon jumpers leaped aboard after the enthusiasts got ... well, enthusiastic? It seemed every few years a particular model, or a pair of close competitors, would dominate the "car fashion" zone as a result of actually being a good car, but there's not really been anything since the S14/S15 has there?
It usually took the car-fashion people a couple of years to cotton-on to something (eg. WRX being released here in '94 but the cult-following blossoming in '96) - I'm imaging it'll happen with the 86, but wonder when.

I think if you look at MX5 club, there seems to be heaps of ppl who weren't really enthusiasts, went out and bought an MX5 way back in the 90s, and it is still the only sports car they've ever owned. So hopefully the 86 doesn't just get the bandwagon jumpers, but also does bring more enthusiasts into the fold.

[itsnotagsr]

I think if you look at MX5 club, there seems to be heaps of ppl who weren't really enthusiasts, went out and bought an MX5 way back in the 90s, and it is still the only sports car they've ever owned. So hopefully the 86 doesn't just get the bandwagon jumpers, but also does bring more enthusiasts into the fold.

Lots of people bought MGBs too. I'd say most MX5 buyers bought them because they wanted a cheap convertible (one of the cheapest available apart from weird French things or Swedish architect-types), not because they wanted great handling. That was just a bonus. To me apart from the fanbois, this makes more sense to the Prelude/Celica crowd.

[IMOA]

Look at the specs of a Mazda Mx5 compared to this thing to determine how good value this is.
I was a major sceptic until I did this. I'm just surprised at the interest around here though.

Unless you HAD to buy brand new, I'd MUCH rather get a second hand S15 or 350Z.

I'm known as a pretty big silvia fanboy and I went for the 86. Ultimately it comes down to do you want a new car or an old one and while I'd certainly buy an S15 if I was after a track car for a daily/take for a sunday morning drive car the 86 works better for me. 350Z didn't really come into considerations to be honest as it's not really a drivers car, it was a secondhand Cayman S that I was going to get but in the end that would be more than twice the cost of the 86, be 6 years old, have significantly higher running costs and always be at the risk of a massive wallet draining maintenance event.

[Babalouie]

I'm known as a pretty big silvia fanboy and I went for the 86. Ultimately it comes down to do you want a new car or an old one and while I'd certainly buy an S15 if I was after a track car for a daily/take for a sunday morning drive car the 86 works better for me. 350Z didn't really come into considerations to be honest as it's not really a drivers car, it was a secondhand Cayman S that I was going to get but in the end that would be more than twice the cost of the 86, be 6 years old, have significantly higher running costs and always be at the risk of a massive wallet draining maintenance event.

If I didn't already have a commuter car, I reckon this would be perfect for me. Cheap enough to use as a "station car" (and being Toyota, you know that the constant short trips won't really hurt it), fun enough as a weekend or track car, and I don't think it'll be a thief magnet, so you can park it anywhere. And if the prices are going to go up in the second batch, then I'd say the resale of the $29,990 GTs just got better.

[psi999]

Looks like you are too busy buying girly SUVs to me mate

Well this car will fit right in then

[myliberty]

Mate of mine spoke to fleet manager at Subaru has heard that GMs that have spoken to Subaru about pricing have indicated/predicted that BRZ would end up at mid 50's on road.

fknwat?!

might drive over to Toyota before they up the price there!

[trent from punchy]

nfw mid 50s. Mid 40s maybe.

Best bet is about 1-2k more than Toyota's GTS. And only one model with similar spec to GTS.

[MartyHusseinXF]

The price was always going to get up, I see getting in on this early (last week) enough to get in on the second batch as the cheapest way to owning a new (fun) car in a long time.

If you hesitated / haven't signed contracts yet, then good luck getting one this year.

[myliberty]

Don't mind the wait, do mind paying an extra $5k for no reason.

[MartyHusseinXF]

Don't mind the wait, do mind paying an extra $5k for no reason.

Wait 1 month and I dare say you'd be looking at waiting and paying more.

[itsnotagsr]

I'm known as a pretty big silvia fanboy and I went for the 86. Ultimately it comes down to do you want a new car or an old one and while I'd certainly buy an S15 if I was after a track car for a daily/take for a sunday morning drive car the 86 works better for me. 350Z didn't really come into considerations to be honest as it's not really a drivers car, it was a secondhand Cayman S that I was going to get but in the end that would be more than twice the cost of the 86, be 6 years old, have significantly higher running costs and always be at the risk of a massive wallet draining maintenance event.

Yes its cheap, looks ok etc. But the big question still remains whether this will be all that fun to drive?

Its not like a WRX or S15 back in the day where you could mod it up a little to make it faster/more fun. This is going to be pretty slow. Chucking rims and suspension at it isn't the point of the car. You take away the stock "driftability/fun handling". You just raise the speed threshold at which point it is fun. So I wonder how many people are going to buy one (especially without driving it) and then wonder what all the fuss was about a few months later.

[Shitbreak]

Yes its cheap, looks ok etc. But the big question still remains whether this will be all that fun to drive?

Its not like a WRX or S15 back in the day where you could mod it up a little to make it faster/more fun. This is going to be pretty slow. Chucking rims and suspension at it isn't the point of the car. You take away the stock "driftability/fun handling". You just raise the speed threshold at which point it is fun. So I wonder how many people are going to buy one (especially without driving it) and then wonder what all the fuss was about a few months later.

Thats pretty much what I think. On paper its great value, but from what I've read, it'll be pretty much a slightly more powerful, but less than equal handling MX5. It will be WAY to unfocused for my tastes. If they introduced a 'track pack' with MUCH sharper damping, I'd be interested.

[GTREA]

I think its safe to say if I did not already have a perfectly fine sporty daily i'd be down Toyota (probably Subaru) buying one.

EVO Mag son't seem over enthused

[Bren]

FFS 20 years ago a Commodore had 147kw.

20 years ago what was the average power/torque output of a 2 litre, naturally aspirated 4 cylinder? Comparing it to a V6/8 Commodore is a pretty stupid comparison.