Toyota 86 Getting A Supercharged Superhero Version: Report

Toyota's new 86 would appear to tick most boxes. Certainly most of the important ones: it's a two-door coupe, it's rear-wheel-drive, it's got one of the lowest centres of gravity around, and it was developed with enthusiasts in mind.

But take the pulse of the enthusiast community and you'll find one recurring theme: many are happy with the coupe's 147kW of naturally-aspirated power, yet many want more.

According to reports out of Europe this week, Toyota saw this coming and is readying a flagship hero model, replete with a supercharger and a host of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) goodies.

While the carmaker's old Supra utilised turbocharging on its top-spec variants, superchargers have long been a go-to source of extra guts for TRD, including Australia's (short-lived) TRD Aurion.

In the 86, TRD's supercharger will reportedly boost the coupe's output to 185kW. That's just-about on par with Volkswagen's Golf R, in a purpose-built rear-wheel-driven package that weighs over 300kg less. On a power-to-weight ratio, it's Nissan 370Z territory.

Whether there's any truth to these reports remains to be seen, but according to some, test cars are already out there. TMR's spy photographers are on the job, so watch this space.