Toyota GR 86 or GR Supra: Which Sports Coupé Should You Choose?

After the GR Supra and GR Yaris, Toyota and Gazoo Racing have once again treated us to a sports car built to deliver serious thrills: the GR 86. It makes a convincing case that there is still room in the market for cars of this kind, despite increasingly “restrictive” emissions regulations.

With rear-wheel drive, a four-cylinder boxer engine and seating for four, the new Toyota GR 86 follows the same recipe as its predecessor. However, it gains welcome extra power and torque, along with greater structural rigidity, promising an even more engaging result.

Toyota GR 86 in Razão Automóvel's video

In Razão Automóvel's latest YouTube video, shown below, Guilherme Costa explains everything you need to know about this new Japanese sports car before posing a question that will no doubt be on many people's minds: does it make more sense to buy this GR 86 or the four-cylinder GR Supra?

Guilherme knows what he is talking about - he has already had both a GR Supra and a GT 86 going sideways! - so this “provocation” was not made at random. For better or worse, the two models share a close genetic connection.

Similar formulas… different engines

To begin with, both are two-door coupés, although the GR 86 has room for four occupants while the GR Supra is strictly a two-seater. They also both feature a longitudinally mounted front engine and rear-wheel drive.

That said, their similarities effectively end with the engine layout. The Toyota GR Supra Signature - the official name of the four-cylinder version - uses a turbocharged 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder engine producing 258 hp and 400 Nm of maximum torque. The new Toyota GR 86, meanwhile, remains faithful to the naturally aspirated flat-four engine that underpinned the GT 86, although its capacity has risen to 2.4 litres, increasing outputs to 235 hp and 250 Nm respectively.

Although both cars send their power solely to the rear wheels, the way it gets there can be quite different. The GR Supra Signature is available exclusively with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, whereas the GR 86 can be paired with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.

Despite its power and torque shortfall, the GR 86 is also the lighter car. Toyota quotes 1270 kg for its new coupé, while the GR Supra weighs 1395 kg.

Are the performance figures similar?

When it comes to performance, at least on paper - we know things are not always quite so straightforward in reality… - the Toyota GR Supra has the advantage:

• GR 86 - 0-100 km/h in 6.3s (top speed has not been announced)
• GR Supra - 0-100 km/h in 5.2s and a top speed of 250 km/h

After styling, engine and performance, price is often the deciding factor when choosing a model. Pricing for the new Japanese sports car has not yet been announced, but we would venture to say that, despite its larger-capacity engine, the GR 86 will be more affordable than the 66,000 requested for the GR Supra Signature.

But assuming money were no object, which of these two models would you take home? Leave us your answer in the comments section.