Here's How Fast The Toyota GR86 Really Is
Toyota's GT86 is an entry-level sports car that joins the Miata and Subaru BRZ in a surprisingly quiet segment of affordable sports cars in 2025.
Originally, Toyota's fun and flingable sports coupe was dubbed the GT86 — taking inspiration from the classic and beloved Toyota AE86 — although the name was updated in 2021 when the second iteration debuted. This shift from GT to GR reflects Toyota's current naming strategy, with the GR nameplate adorning all of the brand's hottest and most performance-oriented models.
Performance can be measured in any number of ways, but one of the key metrics that gearheads love to refer to is top speed. So, with that in mind, just how fast is the Toyota GR86?
According to Toyota, the official top speed is 140 mph — or 134 mph for those equipped with automatic transmissions. However, one bold and intrigued owner looked to test the GR86's top speed out and drew a slightly different conclusion.
This Toyota GR86 topped out at 142 mph on public roads
AutoTopNL — a car reviewing YouTube channel from Europe — took a stick-shift GR86 onto the open and unrestricted Autobahn with one simple goal: to see how fast the little Toyota could really go.
After finding a clear stretch of road and powering through the gears, the driver takes the GR86 past its official top speed of 140 mph, but only briefly, and by a small margin. The footage shows AutoTopNL's GR86 sitting at 229 km/h — 142 mph — for a few seconds, before the driver calls it a day and slows back down.
SlashGear's Chris Davies found that the 2024 Toyota GR86 was "light and spritely" when pushing hard through the twists and turns of a track or country road, but it's also reassuring to see how planted the Toyota looks during its high-speed Autobahn run with AutoTopNL behind the wheel.
Here's what lurks under the GR86's hood
Reaching 140 — or 142, for that matter — mph is no easy feat, whether on an unrestricted public highway like the Autobahn or a purpose-built stretch of racetrack. Although it might not seem that impressive a number considering how overpowered many cars are these days, it's worth remembering just how humble the Toyota's engine is.
Under the hood sits a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter, four-cylinder boxer engine, which sends 228 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque directly to the rear wheels. Those figures wouldn't look out of place attached to a three-row midsize SUV, but the slippery coupe shape and feather-light curb weight of the GR86 enable the dinky Toyota to achieve speeds that seemingly out-rank the engine's output.
If you're keen on testing out how fast a GR86 can go, it's well worth remembering that the six-speed manual GR86 has a 6-mph premium over the automatic's top speed. The stick-shift model is a full half-second quicker to 60 mph, too.
While flagship and limited trims of the GR86 come kitted out with Brembo brakes and adjustable Sachs dampers, it's key to note that all iterations of the humble sports coupe come with the same 228 horsepower under the hood. So if straight line speed is all you're interested in, there is no need to splash the cash and fork out any more than $30,000 for the basic GR86.