Toyota is a car company known for their practical, efficient and value-holding mostly family-oriented vehicles. While this has been the case for most of the last 84 years, the brand has also delved a bit into the world of the impractical, such as sports cars and motorsports.
The first proper sports car the Japanese brand developed was the S800, based on the Publica Sports concept. Next was one of the most well-known Toyota models in history – the 2000GT. From then on, Toyota designed, developed, produced, and sold sports cars – or sportier cars – on an irregular basis, ranging from small-engine coupes like the legendary AE86 to larger-engine turbocharged cars like the Soarer Turbo and Supra. Toyota even extended this trend to their luxury brand, Lexus, which sells proper V8 sports coupes and sedans.
These days, most Toyota models remain practical family cars, although they have explored further into the sports car realm with their Gazoo Racing sub-brand – slapping a GR logo on any model they deem fit. Here are 10 of the coolest past and present Toyota models.
10 S800
The Toyota S800 – not to be confused with the Honda S800 – was first introduced in 1965 and was in production until 1969. The car was fitted with a tiny 0.8-liter 2-cylinder flat-twin engine, which produced a rather healthy 44 hp. This engine allowed the car to achieve a comfortable 45 mph in town driving, and an astonishing 100 mph when used on track.
Around 3,100 S800s were reportedly built, but only around 10% are known to have survived – most of them being in Japan. The S800 was the first production car to feature a lift-out roof panel – or Targa top – predating the Porsche 911 Targa. The panel could even be stored in the trunk!
9 2000GT
The 2000GT was the Japanese marque’s first proper sports car. It was manufactured between 1967 and 1970, and most of the design and engineering was done by the motorcycle division of Yamaha. Satoru Nozaki – the 2000GT’s designer – used the Jaguar E-Type as the main inspiration, but was sure to make it uniquely Japanese.
The car was powered by a 2.0-liter straight-six, based on the engine in the top-of-the-line Crown sedan, using higher-performance carburetors and a new Dual Overhead Cam head. The engine produced 148 hp and 129 lb-ft of torque, which went to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox. Only around 337 2000GTs were ever produced, which means they command a hefty sum when one goes on sale.
8 AE86 Sprinter Trueno
The AE86 is one of the most well-known compact cars Toyota has ever made. This is mostly due to the model competing in various forms of motorsport – from Group A and Group N racing, to drifting and even British Touring Car racing. The main cause for the AE86’s high resale value has been cited as the popularity it received due to the car featuring in the anime, Initial D, where the main character uses the car to deliver tofu.
The AE86 was produced between 1984 and 1987 and is powered by a 1.6-liter DOHC inline-4 that produced 128 hp – although this was reduced to 112 hp in the North American version to comply with California State emissions regulations. The AE86 has been modified by many owners and finding a stock example has become quite difficult.
7 Soarer Turbo (3rd Gen)
The Toyota Soarer was a personal luxury GT from the 1980s that stayed in production until the early 2000s as the Lexus SC. The Toyota Soarer and the Lexus SC shared a platform and most other components, however the Soarer had different engines in its line-up.
The Soarer Turbo was fitted with a 1JZ-GTE 2.5-liter twin-turbo straight-6 that produced 276 hp – under the Japanese manufacturer’s gentleman’s agreement – and 270 lb-ft of torque going to the rear wheels only, via either a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. The Toyota Soarer Turbo was a more luxurious alternative to the Supra and is generally easier to come by.
6 A80 Supra
The A80 Toyota Supra is – thanks to its fame in the Fast and the Furious franchise – one of the most popular cars in the world. It was fitted with Toyota’s brilliant 2JZ-GE and 2JZ-GTE straight-6s. The GE was a non-turbo version that produced 220 hp, while the GTE produced 320 hp – although very little modification could push power to well over 400 hp.
The Supra was available with either a 6-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission, however many owners have swapped the auto for a manual if a factory manual car could not be found. The A80 Supra, along with the Nissan Skyline GT-R, is among the best Japanese cars ever made.
5 Celica GT-Four Turbo
The Toyota Celica was the less expensive budget sports coupe made by Toyota between 1971 and 2001. The fifth generation Celica was among the most successful of the Celica models in terms of sales and motorsport wins. The Celica GT-Four Turbo was fitted with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 engine, which produced 232 hp and 224 lb-ft of torque.
The Celica is a great sports car often modified to look like the model’s rally counterpart – Castrol livery and everything. Toyota made a special homologation model limited to 5000 units, which featured some proper Group A upgrades including a different intercooler, a more aggressively-tuned ECU and a lighter front bumper that let in more air.
4 MR2 Supercharged
The Toyota MR2 was the manufacturer’s attempt at making a budget mid-engine sports car. The model’s name was the abbreviation of Mid-engine, Rear-wheel-drive, 2-seater but was marketed as the Toyota MR in France, as ‘MR2’ was too close to a French swear word.
The MR2 was fitted with the 1.6-liter inline-4 from the Corolla GT-S, which produced 112 hp in the US. In 1988, Toyota introduced a supercharged version of the MR2, which boosted power to 145 hp. The supercharger was belt-driven, but had an electromagnetic clutch so that it was only used when needed, increasing fuel economy.
3 GR86
The new GR86 is so far the best of the new-generation 86 models. The older GT86 was introduced in 2012 and while it was a brilliant driver’s car, many wished it had more power. Toyota listened to its fans and for the new GR86, they enlarged the engine and improved the entire car.
As a result, maximum power jumped from 205 hp (for the manual) to 234 hp, thanks to the new 2.4-liter flat-4 – borrowed from Subaru. The styling is more in-line with the Toyota design language and the interior got a more premium-feeling overhaul. For the 2023 model year, Toyota will sell a Special Edition version of the GR86 in North America, based on the top-tier Premium trim, but with special paint and wheels.
2 GR Yaris
The GR Yaris is the first in Toyota’s new line of properly sporty cars. It is based on the Yaris hatchback, but shares very little with the car, thanks to the large number of modifications. The GR Yaris is fitted with a specially-designed 1.6-liter inline-3 turbo, which produces 260 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission.
The GR Yaris was developed due to Toyota’s desire to rejoin the World Rally Championship, and so they needed to homologate a car. The Yaris was chosen, and the production car was almost immediately a success. Unfortunately, the GR Yaris is not available in North America, however Toyota has confirmed that the upcoming GR Corolla will make up for it.
1 Lexus LFA
Probably the best car ever to be developed in Japan, the Lexus LFA is a tour de force in automotive engineering. Built as an entirely bespoke supercar, the LFA shares only the infotainment system with other Lexus models. Everything, from the indicator stalks to the glorious V10, was entirely designed for this car – most of which was never carried over to other models.
The magnificent 4.8-liter naturally aspirated V10 makes 553 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque, going to the rear wheels only via a 6-speed automated-manual transmission. The engine redlines at 9,000 rpm and thanks to the audibly designed intake and exhaust system, the LFA sounds like an older Formula One car. The Lexus LFA is, hands-down, the coolest car Toyota has ever made.