Toyota launched the second-generation GR86 over four years ago. It built on the successes of the original then sold under the Scion brand as the FR-S, and now it’s drawing on some of the same magic for its latest special edition. Called the Yuzu Edition, it takes everything fans love about the GR86 and dials it up a notch.
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This is a coupe built for enthusiasts who value balance over brute force. Lightweight, rear-wheel drive, and engaging without breaking the bank, it’s one of the last naturally aspirated new sports coupes available.
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For 2026, the Yuzu Edition arrives as a low-production model finished in a vibrant yellow hue and packed with subtle but meaningful performance tweaks. It also brings a not-so-low price tag of $36,365 for the privilege of exclusivity.
Beneath the bright paint, Toyota has quietly added hardware that transforms how the GR86 feels on the road, and that’s where this car’s real secret lies.
Over the last few days, we’ve been tracking the GR86 at Sonoma Raceway in California. It’s one thing to pilot this or its badge-engineered sibling, the Subaru BRZ, in the real world and another to push it to the limit on track. Here’s what we learned about Toyota’s latest and greatest version of the GR86.Â
Loud And Proud Styling
The Yuzu Edition’s intent is no secret. Named for the Japanese citrus fruit and a paint color originally available on the FR-S, its searing yellow paint pops even in dim light and is exclusive to this trim. Black accents on the mirror caps, rear spoiler, and 18-inch forged alloy wheels sharpen the look without drowning the color in contrast.Â
Toyota adds a few bits to help differentiate this trim from most others beyond the exterior color. The side skirts and front bumper get black accents. Subtle Yuzu Edition badging on the fenders and interior reminds you that this isn’t just an accessory package, it’s a genuine limited-run GR86. Toyota is sending fewer than 900 of these cars to the USA.Â
Otherwise, the coupe remains the same aesthetically. It’s clean, low-slung, and compact. Slim LED headlights, a wide grille, and short overhangs give it a classic sports car stance that feels timeless next to some of the more heavily styled cars on the market today.Â
Inside The Cabin
The GR86 Yuzu Edition doesn’t settle for yellow on the exterior alone. Inside the cabin, buyers will find yellow contrast stitching, unique door sill plates, and a numbered badge to mark its place in the production run. Standard features include an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlayconnectivity.Â
It’s less than optimal and can feel slow to respond. The graphics aren’t anything to write home about either. The gauge cluster is a 7-inch digital unit with several different menus and moderate customizability. Some displays, like the power curve visualization, feel like a gimmick.Â
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The dash and attached features might be the only big letdown in this car. Put simply, the design and implementation feel a tad clunky. The passenger-side dash doesn’t flow at all with any other part of the cabin, the infotainment bezel feels needlessly gigantic, and while we love the inclusion of physical buttons, knobs, and switches, we’d love to see them made a bit more special in such a special car.Â
Even transforming it to feel more like the setup you’ll see in an MX-5 would be an improvement. No, that isn’t the most advanced dash or infotainment system ever, but the design itself feels far more cohesive and elegant. The Hyundai Elantra N goes even further in this direction, though it isn’t totally analogous since it’s a four-door four-seater.Â
That said, the Yuzu gets standard heated sports seats, and they’re excellent. Covered in black Ultrasuede with yellow perforations, they offer a high level of comfort, adjustability, and lateral support.
The ergonomics in this car are genuinely great. Visibility is excellent. The seat, steering wheel, and gear shift all feel well-matched. And the pedal box is clearly laid out for an enthusiast.Â
Behind the front seats are some storage spaces that cosplay as back seats. Sure, some small children or pets could fit there easily, but even my 70 pound mutt, Sandy, would struggle to get comfortable.
To Toyota’s credit, the rear seats do feature the same high-quality fabric upholstery with bits of faux leather mixed in and child-seat anchors that are useful, as small kids are the only ones who’d really fit there.Â
Owners can also flip the seats down and create a pass-through to the trunk for more storage. Speaking of trunk space, there are around six cubic feet in the trunk, which isn’t much, and practicality is further compromised by a small opening.
That being said, one must always bear in mind that this is a sports car. If you routinely need lots of cargo space, it won’t be on your shopping list anyway, so that’s that.
Drive Impressions
Underneath, the Yuzu Edition adheres to the proven recipe: a 2.4-liter boxer-four engine sending power to the rear wheels through either a six-speed manual or an optional automatic transmission.
It makes the same 228 horsepower (170 kW) and 184 lb-ft (249 Nm) of torque that every other second-gen GR86 does and sprinting from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) takes as little as 6.1 seconds.A limited-slip differential is standard, adding to the car’s fun-to-drive character.
Furthermore, Toyota equips this special edition with the GR Performance package, which includes Sachs dampers and Brembo brakes, to tighten body control and improve stopping power. I’m happy to say that most of it works out beautifully.Â
First, the steering feel is dramatically improved. Both the older GR86 we drove on track and even the Subaru BRZ I reviewed earlier this year didn’t have the communicative steering that this new GR86 does. In fact, the entire car feels better at communicating grip. Surprisingly, the shocks and springs felt a bit more squishy than I expected when compared to the other two, though the suspension was far from soft in the corners.Â
In fact, it’s the kind of sports car that you can grab by the horns and really push hard. Since it only has some 228 horsepower on tap, it’s easy to put the throttle down and not worry that you’ll break the tires loose at triple-digit speeds.
It’s also much lighter than the GR Supra, so it’s more playful and requires less finesse on the driver’s part. All of that added up to a joyful time behind the wheel at Sonoma Raceway.Â
On blind corners with huge elevation changes, I never had to worry that it would be unsettled on the other end of the corner. On the long left-hand sweeper mid-way through the course, it settled in and let me feed the throttle in quite early. Over the high-speed esses on the back end of the track, it was a breeze even when I crested 100 mph (160 km/h) – which, admittedly, is pretty fast indeed.
The GR86 isn’t available with auto rev-matching, but the beauty of this car is that the lower power and resulting speeds provide a little extra mental bandwidth to hone heel-and-toe skills. The power profile is sharper for 2026 to make that easier.
Interestingly, one concern we had in the BRZ is present here as well: the tires. Toyota uses sticky Michelin rubber, and while it’s undeniably excellent and perfect for track use, something a little less grippy could add a little more fun to the equation.Â
The brakes stood up to the abuse, too. At no point during several laps did they even hint at fade, and keep in mind that this car drove to and from the track for three days of this kind of work. This is exactly the type of reasonably priced car that someone who regularly attends track days will love.
Like the idea but want more power? Aftermarket turbo kits can cost as little as $4,500, but they will probably void your warranty, so you might wanna skip them for now or else take your chances in case anything goes wrong.
On public roads, this little sports car feels perfectly content to move around at one-tenth of its limits. The brakes are smooth, the steering remains communicative, and the suspension isn’t overly sharp or uncomfortable. We also appreciate the inclusion of driver aids even in the manually equipped GR86. That wasn’t always something we could enjoy in the compact Toyota.Â
Competition
Few cars truly match the GR86’s combination of affordability, manual gearbox availability, and rear-drive dynamics. Its closest rival is (unsurprisingly) the Subaru BRZ, essentially the same car in many ways but with different suspension tuning and styling. Mazda’s MX-5 Miata offers a purer open-top experience and is a hoot to drive, but isn’t as practical.Â
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On the flip side, models like the Nissan Z deliver dramatically more power and are more fun overall, but are priced quite a bit higher. Used market shoppers could consider a pre-owned Ford Mustang GT or the BMW 2-Series, but both would cost more to maintain over time and can’t match the GR86’s featherweight charm.Â
Another thing to bear in mind is that buyers can always look outside the simple coupe or roadster segment. For example, the Honda Civic Si and Type R could be under consideration. Each is a fun car to drive and is more practical, but neither really offers the dynamic ability of the GR86.
We’re pretty sure you know the saying that often the fiercest competition occurs among siblings, and depending on where you stand, this may hold true here as well. See, Toyota’s own GR Corolla might be the best buy for someone who needs both practicality and excellent handling. Still, the GR86 is more singularly focused, and for some, that’s the most important thing.Â
Final Thoughts
The Yuzu Edition isn’t the fastest, flashiest, or most advanced sports car you can buy in 2026. But it’s one of the purest. For under $40,000, it delivers balance, communication, and joy in ways cars costing twice as much sometimes miss.Â
The limited production run makes it a potential collector’s piece, but the fundamentals remain strong even in a base GR86. If you want one of the last naturally aspirated, rear-wheel drive, analog coupes on sale, the Yuzu Edition is a celebration worth considering.
Credit: Stephen Rivers / Toyota
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