--- title: "Toyota Is Testing a GR86 With the GR Corolla’s Turbo Three-Cylinder Engine" description: "Toyota is currently testing a GR86 race car with the turbocharged three-cylinder engine from the GR Corolla." date: "2022-09-11" modified: "2022-09-11" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/toyota-is-testing-a-gr86-with-the-gr-corollas-turbo-three-cylinder-engine" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Toyota News" tags: - "compact" - "Coupe" - "GR86" - "sports car" - "Toyota" --- # Toyota Is Testing a GR86 With the GR Corolla’s Turbo Three-Cylinder Engine ![]() The [GR Corolla]() is Toyota's current media darling and for good reason. It follows in the wake of the hugely popular [GR Yaris]() and packs the same punchy turbocharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder engine (codenamed G16E). That same engine might now even find its way into another car, as Toyota is testing the G16E engine in the rear-wheel drive [GR86](). Don't get too excited, though, as there's no guarantee such a car makes production. At the moment, Toyota is only using the engine to test synthetic, carbon-neutral fuels in the Japanese Super Taikyu racing series but Australia's *[CarSales]()* recently reported there's a chance it could make it to production. “Yes, we are thinking for the future about the possibility of using it, but there are no concrete plans at the moment." said Toyota Gazoo Racing chief engineer Naoyuki Sakamotoe, according to *CarSales*. ![]() It's an important to note that Subaru is also racing its BRZ, the GR86's identical twin, in the same series, using a modified version of its 2.4-liter boxer engine. However, Toyota declined to use the same modified boxer engine for its GR86 race car, as it wanted to test its synthetic fuels on a Toyota engine. Sakamotoe doesn't say why Toyota wanted to use its own engine but I wonder if it's because Toyota wants to use its experimental engine in future products. The Toyota GR86 is already a killer driver's car, with great steering, a slick manual shift, and a lightweight rear-wheel drive chassis. The only real complaint, if you can even call it that, is its aforementioned Subaru engine, which only makes 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. The GR Corolla's turbo-three-pot makes 300 horsepower and 295 pound-feet, which would be a massive upgrade. There's no guarantee that Toyota makes a GR86 with the GR Corolla's engine but it's nice to know that it's at least being considered. Toyota recently gave the Supra a manual transmission option after fans begged for it. Hopefully, it does the same with the GR Corolla engine. *Have a tip? Send it to nico.demattia@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()