Toyota unveils production version of 86 Cup racer

Following the debut of the updated Toyota 86 last year, the automaker has also revealed the revamped racing-spec model of their sports coupe. While the concept was revealed during SEMA last year, Toyota has revealed the production model which still sports the concept's livery. Besides that, Toyota has also expanded the availability of the race car to the North American market. 

This is not the first time the 86 received the race car treatment. Back in 2012, Toyota began offering the Cup-spec 86 to customer teams around the world. The pre-facelift Cup car went on to compete in endurance racing, autocross events and also in rallying. Like its predecessor, the 2018 86 Cup racer is engineered by the company's European racing division, Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG).

Each Toyota 86 Cup starts out as a stock model which is then sent to TMG for modifications. From there, the coupe's interior is stripped out, along with the removal of other luxuries. TMG then installs safety equipment such as a rollcage and fire extinguisher, along with handling upgrades from TRD. It gets uprated dampers, bushings and springs plus bigger brakes. The Toyota 86 Cup also gains an engine tune but retains its stock six-speed manual transmission. Toyota did not mention the power increase from the tune.

The TMG 86 Cup Car will be driven by veteran road racer Craig Stanton, a former GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT and Continental Tire GS class champion with over 30 years of driving experience, and fielded by the Dan Gardner Spec (DG-Spec) Racing team. DG-Spec previously won the Pirelli World Challenge TC class championship with the Scion tC in 2010, and has also competed in GRAND-AM and other sports car and endurance series. The facelifted Toyota 86 Cup car is set to make its competition debut next week at the Pirelli World Challenge.