Toyota GR86 honoured as the Autocar-Beaulieu Future Classic in the Autocar Awards

26 April 2023

The Toyota GR86 has been named the Autocar-Beaulieu Future Classic in the Autocar Awards, reaffirming its status as one of the most rewarding and sought-after sports cars of its time.

The honour was announced at an awards evening hosted at Silverstone last night, setting the seal on a remarkable first year for the coupe. In his profile of GR86, Matt Prior, Autocar Editor-at-Large, declares that it was “a confirmed classic, right out of the box.”

He praises its fundamental qualities, “tweaked and tuned to near perfection,” and concludes: “We have ended up with a car with such enormous potential that, for us, its future classic status is guaranteed – if indeed it hasn’t already started.”

GR86 is a more powerful successor to the Toyota GT86, adopting the same classic sports car format of a front-mounted engine, rear wheel drive, light weight and a nimble, perfectly balanced chassis. Its launch completed a “power of three” range of Toyota GR models, alongside GR Supra and GR Yaris. This trio of performance cars benefits directly from the know-how and experience of Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s multi-world championship-winning competition arm, true to Toyota’s mission to build ever-better cars.

Stuart Sanders, Toyota (GB) Director, Communications and Product, said: “With GR86 we want to help people enjoy the pure pleasures of driving in a car that’s simple in concept and affordable to own and run. We hugely appreciate this award as an independent affirmation of our success in this ambition.”