This is the new Toyota GR86, and the one question
you want answered is... How much faster is it than the old one? [The second question you want answered: why is there a troll in a Little Red Riding Hood costume? Answer: We don't know.] The biggest problem with the last 86 was that
it couldn't keep up with a Miata in a drag race. That's literally the worst thing you could say about any car. [BURN!] And, uh, problem solved! Well, I guess we can end the episode now,
right? [EEEEK!] Whoa! Now there's that thing to contend with! The GTI's really fast, but it's wrong-wheel
drive! Volkswagen says they've eliminated all the
understeer. We'll see about that. Isn't the iconic sports-car recipe front-engine,
rear-drive and not about the power? Wait a second, haven't we seen this story
before? [This burn brought to you by the turbocharged, Zermatt-silver Porsche 951] [Somehow Cammisa remains insured AND employed by an insurance company, even after this felonious, unconscionably dangerous intro.] [This makes Hagerty the coolest company in the world, amirite?] [This is a synonym for Subaru BRZ] Can we be honest about why we care about these
cars? We're poor!
[He may be projecting.] Otherwise we would have Porsches. And if you want an affordable, fun-to-drive
sports car, you only had a few choices. You could have a Subaru BRZ, a Scion FR-S,
a Toyota 86, a Toyota GT 86, or a Toyota 86 GT.
[Hint: these are all the same car.] All of which were among the best-handling
cars of all time. But they came with an engine that vibrated
like a worn-out drain disposal and made just as much torque. The old 86 wasn't actually that slow, but
it felt it — because it made no torque where you needed it the most, and sounded so bad
that you never wanted to rev it out. Ever. Problem... solved! The old engine's tiny little torqsiqules have
been working out! [Eww.] There's a 2.4-liter where there used to be a 2.0. And there's all kind of pull where there used
to be a torque hole. This is nothing like the last car, where you
used to feel trapped in a gear, foot on the floor... ...waiting for the old lady behind you
to be like... [honks] Get out of my way, slowpoke! This thing is faster at all speeds, and more
importantly, it feels wwaaaaaayyy quicker. And pulls so hard up top you're going to wear
out the rev limiter. You can make it do a little beep as you approach
redline, and trust me, you're going to need it... ...especially when you're racing something faster. Like the new GTI. [Oh god, there it is again.] [Help! Mommy!] As you might have noticed, the 86 got its
ass handed to it by the GTI, even though the cars have similar power-to-weight. That's because turbos are (and this is a technical term) cheating. [OMG what did we just see?
Please tell me those were shorts and not bloomers.] But you'll see that the 86 gets a significant
jump off the line before the GTI eventually blows by it. And that's because of something we need to
quickly discuss... [How did HE get there?] ...weight transfer. All other things being equal, the more weight
on a tire, the more grip it has. So, I can take this tire and just drag it
down the track, no problem. However, if we add a little bit of weight
to the tire... (I said a LITTLE bit of weight!) ...well, then I can't pull it at all. More weight equals more grip. The same thing happens in your car. Under acceleration, you and everything else in your car [yes, including your parking tickets] gets thrown backwards. That weight is transferred off the front tires
and onto the rears. The harder a car accelerates, the more of
a disadvantage a front-wheel drive car like the GTI has, and the more of an advantage
a rear-drive car like the 86 has. This thing is faaaast! [Sounds like a Dyson.] It's a little passionless and a little laggy,
but it makes power all the way to the redline. In fact, it makes so much power that it struggles
to put it down... ...even with these [sorry, VW] outrageous cheater tires
on it. U.S.-spec GTIs come with all-season tires and this
has barely street-legal semi-racing tires. I guess Volkswagen couldn't find a set of
Hoosiers to put on this... Anyway! I love GTIs. I like front-wheel drive cars. A lot! But there's a reason why race cars are never
front-wheel drive. And yes, that weight-transfer thing has something
to do with it, but also something else... that we call the traction circle. Basically, your tires have only so much grip
to give. If you ask them to do two things at once,
you're reducing their ability to do each of them. So, if you add power in the middle of a corner
in a GTI, well, you're reducing the front wheels' ability to turn the car. At the same time, you're transferring weight
rearward, reducing overall grip on the front to begin with. And so what happens? The front slides, the
back doesn't, and that's called understeer. The GTI's locking front diff is magic. But it can't invent grip. It can only maximize what's there. And what's there is far less than a rear-wheel
drive car would have. It's straight physics. [Where the HELLdid that 86 come from!? Hahahaha!] So, rear-wheel drive cars are faster on the
way out of a corner... ...but they're also a lot more fun! It's because I can steer with the front wheels... ...the back wheels... ...or all of them! You can throw the GTI sideways on the way
into a corner, but on the way out, he's only got understeer. Not a problem here! And this is why the iconic sports-car recipe
isn't front-wheel drive. Front-wheel cars are easy to master. And therefore quick to bore you. It needs to be said: something like a GTI
doesn't live on a race track. It lives here, on a public road. And here, limit-handling doesn't really matter. The GTI is still the perfect combination of fun and speed. I have great seats, a great steering wheel,
a shifter that lets me downshift in the middle of a corner... ...lots of power on the way out, great sight
lines so I can place the car exactly where I want. This is a backroad-bomber. I think this Mk8 GTI is not quite as good
as the last one. It still has all of the great GTI attributes,
but the interior is a little... not-so-nice, and it's got a lot more gimmicks and a little
less substance. Overall, though, you'd be hard-pressed to
find another car that's this great on a back road. I'm sorry, outside of a drag strip or a race
track, there is absolutely nothing wrong with front wheel drive. Especially once you start factoring in the
other benefits of a hot-hatch. Which is of course, space. Let's ignore the GTI's catastrophe of a user interface for a second... [Revelations episode coming to discuss that in detail!] ...and talk about practicality. The GTI has a back seat that fits actual...humans.
[And the troll from the drag race.] And it has a trunk large enough to put a refrigerator
in it. The 86 is only an inch shorter and yet it
has a back seat that will never fit a human being — much less Little Fat Riding Hood over there. [Jason's good buddy Mike, who's playing "Little Fat Riding Hood," was 100% on board with this joke and found it even funnier than you did. LFRH gets his revenge later in the episode, but know that we're spreading love and laughs here - not fat shaming.] And its trunk, well it could fit a cooler
if you could actually fit it through the opening. Which you can't. The Miata doesn't even have a back seat — you'd
be lucky to fit in the front —and its trunk is... umm... full. This is the continuum of the $30,000 enthusiast
car. On the GTI end, you have all the practicality,
fun, and speed — but a car that will quickly prove itself one-dimensional on a racetrack. On the Miata end, well, you have the iconic
sports-car recipe. And that is unmatched in its ability to put
a smile on your face, on the road or on track. But this is the Goldilocks car. And the idea of a happy-medium sports-car isn't new. In fact, the 86 is a perfect update on the
Porsche 944 recipe. Four-cylinder, front-engine, rear-drive GT
with a usable-ish trunk and an emphasis on handling. And the 944 lineage had an incredibly successful
20-year run. Partially because it was even better than
the 911 at being a sports car you could use every day. The 86 is the 944's spiritual successor. And the last generation had a bit of a problem. While it was amazing when you were caning
it, it was irritating to live with. And I don't say this lightly: this new one
fixes every. single. one. of. those. problems. The interior no longer looks like Toyota and
Subaru were having an argument while they were designing it. It's nice in here. The stereo actually sounds good. [What a concept?!] And it's now possible to engage the clutch
smoothly. [This was patently impossible in the last Toyobaru.] This may not be the world's best car, but
it's a perfect 86. [Perfect BRZ!] And so the 86 has come way closer to the GTI's
everyday livability. And with all the Miata's handling. In fact, more of it. This handles better than the Miata. The old 86 —and the ND — both do what
you want. But sometimes they do things you don't want. Like throwing themselves sideways at the suggestion
of a bump. Or every time you see a police officer.
[Sorry, your honor.] This one is much more stable — it lets go
at the front first, and then allows you to adjust the line with the throttle. In other words, this is a driver's car. It does exactly what you want. The flip side of that is if you ask it to
get sideways, it will. Even if you have stability control on.
[Which was clearly not the case here.] Gaaaaaahhhd I love oversteer! [Disturbing O-sounds] I genuinely can't think of a better teaching
tool for advanced driving techniques. No wonder, then, that Toyota is giving out
free track instruction with the purchase of any GR 86. Come to think of it, Porsche should give out a free GR 86 with the purchase of every 911 GT3 RS —so that its buyers can finally learn how to drive them. If there's one thing you need to know about
this car, it's that this is a comprehensive rework of a great car that fixed all of its
shortcomings without adding a single problem. Not one. And that sounds like Porsche: ...continually evolving its cars on a quest
to make the world's best everyday sports cars. The GR 86 may have a Toyota badge on it. And it might be built by Subaru. But it's 100% Porsche in its philosophy. Except unlike anything at the Porsche dealership,
this is an everyday sports car you and I can actually afford. Ugh, that's it? You barely reviewed the car! [Bloop!] Mother... [indistinct swearing and banging on the door] Well, look — while I'm in here, on the right
hand side, those are two videos you need to watch. The first is a Revelations on the Subaru BRZ
—this car's twin. And that's where I talk about all the technical
details I left out of this video. The second one is a Revelations on the Porsche 924. That's the car that became the 944 and the
968 —great story, you need to watch it! Hopefully I'll be out of here by the time you're done. [Bangs on door.] Ugh.
TL;DW: He loves it and thinks there's absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Interesting how he says the handling is better because of the added grip and Throttle House complained about it not being loose enough.
Must test drive when it comes out. I'm excited for the release!