Toyota GR86 Rally Legacy Concept debuts with GR Corolla’s 1.6T, 6MT, AWD – inspired by Celica GT-Four

For this year’s SEMA Show, Toyota is presenting the GR86 Rally Legacy Concept, which pays homage to the brand’s storied rally heritage. While it may be based on a 2024 GR86 with the Performance Package, the modifications made to the rally-inspired machine are a lot more extensive than just an increased ride height and chunky tyres.

Drawing inspiration from the iconic ST185 and ST205 Celica GT-Four rally vehicles of the past, the GR86 Rally Legacy Concept underwent a complete powertrain swap to inherit the G16E-GTS engine, GR-Four all-wheel drive and six-speed manual transmission from the GR Corolla.

Splicing two cars together is no mean feat, with the project posing formidable fabrication challenges to shoehorn the GR Corolla’s powertrain into the GR86’s chassis. For starters, the 1.6 litre turbocharged inline-three petrol engine is taller than the stock FA24D 2.4 litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder boxer unit.

Toyota says that while the G16E-GTS could fit within the GR86 engine bay, it still needed to create a custom subframe and engine mounts to gain the clearance required. To add to the complications, incorporating the hubs, spindles and axles from the GR Corolla to get power to the front wheels necessitated significant modification of the front suspension, which feature custom coilover dampers and bespoke control arms. Even the steering rack needed adjusting for proper feel and clearances.

At the back, Toyota’s team replaced the stock GR86 rear end with the GR Corolla differential and housing to maintain factory gear ratios, electronics functionality as well as power distribution. The GR Corolla rear axles also required modification to fit properly.

To make sure the engine runs properly, a race ECU was installed to ensure timely fuel delivery, spark timing, boost control and sensor monitoring. A performance intercooler to chill the intake charge, and an oil cooler to reduce engine oil temperatures were also installed. Toyota says that while the outputs are 300 hp and 370 Nm, there is the potential for these numbers to be increased with further tuning.

With the mechanical work out of the way, the team then focused on aesthetics by painting the car Halo White, accompanied by touches of red and green as a nod to its classic rally cars. The GR86 also gets Toyota Gazoo Racing logos, large red rally mudflaps, rally fog lamps, a custom exhaust and a Celica GT-Four-inspired spoiler for that vintage rally look.

Moving inside, the concept vehicle gets its interior stripped out, with only the essentials like a white-painted full roll cage, red racing seats and six-point racing harnesses installed. A custom dashboard, racing steering wheel and motorsport-focused controls were also added in.

“The GR86 Rally Legacy Concept is a testament to Toyota’s enduring passion for rally racing, said Michael Tripp, group vice president of marketing at Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). “We did this build for our GR and Toyota Rally fans – it’s a fantasy car come to life, our way of celebrating our past achievements and the possibility of the World Rally Championship making a return to the United States,” he added.

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