Toyota 86 sports car will cost more in Europe
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LONDON –Toyota's new GT 86 sports car will cost 10,000 euros more in Europe than in Japan.
The rear-wheel-drive 86 will start from 1.99 million yen ($26,140; 19,900 euros) when it goes on sale in Japan on April 6, Toyota said on Thursday.
In Europe the car's starting price will be "around 30,000 euros" when it arrives in showrooms early summer, according to a Toyota Europe spokesman.
"In Japan they will be launching with a low-spec version as an entry point. We're launching with a relatively high-grade model with 17-inch wheels and a high range of equipment," the spokesman told Automotive News Europe.
In Europe, Toyota expects to sell 15,000 units a year of the GT 86. In Japan the company forecasts sales of 1,000 a month.
In the United States, the 86 will be called the Scion FR-S and will arrive in U.S. showrooms in the spring, according to the car's dedicated consumer Web site. No pricing has been given.
The 86 is part of Toyota's push to widen the Japanese automaker's appeal to younger consumers. The car takes its name from the cult AE86 Corolla Levin sports car from the 1980s and borrows some of that car's stripped-back appeal.
The 86 is powered by a 200-hp, naturally aspirated, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine co-developed with Subaru, which will launch its own version called the BRZ on Friday. Subaru will build both cars at its Gunma factory, north of Tokyo.
The 86 accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometers (63 miles) per hour in six seconds, with a top speed of 230 kilometers an hour, according to the company.
Toyota hasn't sold a sports car in Europe since the Celica, which was discontinued in 2006.
Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this story
You can reach Nick Gibbs at nick.gibbs@btinternet.com.
