Wild Rumor Claims Next-Gen Toyota GR86 Will Be a Turbo Hybrid

The current Toyota GR86 is a fantastic sports coupe, but if there’s one complaint you see over and over again is that it doesn’t have enough power. Ever since the original showed up as the Scion FR-S (RIP Scion), keyboard warriors have insisted Toyota made a mistake by not offering a turbo version. If the latest rumor is to be believed, it may only be a matter of time before they get their wish.

According to Japan’s Best Car, the next-generation GR86 will get a turbo. Specifically, it will get the 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbo currently found in the GR Yaris and GR Corolla. The report also goes onto claim the next GR86 will be built on the Lexus IS’s platform and gain the hybrid system from the Toyota Crown.

If true, that would mean the GR86 wouldn’t just be getting more power. It would become significantly heavier, too. And the Crown connection suggests it may move to all-wheel drive. Without a Subaru engine, would this mean the BRZ is about to get the axe? We have so many questions.

That said, we need to make it abundantly clear that this is nothing more than rumor at this point, and the version we read was translated into English by Google. Japanese-language outlets (and let’s be honest, more than a few English-language ones) have been known in the past to publish rumors never turn out to be true.

To be fair, Best Car does say it was able to verify the information it was originally given. So maybe there’s some truth to this one? Possibly? We can’t be certain either way.

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Does the idea of a Toyota sports car with the GR Corolla’s engine, a Lexus-sourced chassis, and a hybrid system have us intrigued? Oh, absolutely. It would be a huge departure from the current formula that makes the GR86 a fun, tossable little sports car, but we’d have to be drunk to turn down a test drive.

Then again, it almost sounds like this new hypothetical sports car would be more of a replacement for the Supra than the GR86. With a hybrid system, the engine from the GR Corolla, and admittedly old Lexus platform, it’s hard to imagine Toyota would be able to sell it for anything close to current GR86 prices.

Like with all rumors, it’s definitely fun to think about, but please don’t assume it’s a done deal until Toyota officially announces anything. If it’s true, though, we won’t have to wait long to find out. Toyota’s reportedly hoping to have the new turbocharged hybrid GR86 rolling off the line in 2025.