Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - Why I’m Glad the 86 Came With No Turbo Trim: Still a Better Love Story Than Twilight

Why I’m Glad the 86 Came Without a Turbo Option: Still a Better Love Story Than Twilight

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“You will never have a boosted 86 from the factory, but that’s okay.”

It’s nearing the end of the year, and as such we’re getting closer to auto show season and starting to see rumors about upcoming cars from across the spectrum of the automotive industry. From mid-engine Corvettes to a “Turbo, Facelifted 2016 BRZ,” these claims come from far-away lands and sources that most have never heard of, even in the most anxious and excited car enthusiast circles. That latter rumor strikes a particular chord for most of the people here.

It got me thinking, and I arrived at the conclusion that I’m happy the 86 Platform was offered without a turbo (or other similarly higher-horsepower) option. Crazy, right? Maybe not. It is entirely likely that the car in its current form is the only reason that a second generation is on its way.

To understand this, we have to accept one basic principle: Toyota and Subaru are for-profit companies out to make money.

With this assumption out of the way, let’s address the primary pieces of evidence that support the thesis that the car is getting a second generation because it was not offered with higher horsepower figures.

Exhibit A: Margins

Toyota and Subaru (hereafter referred to as Toyobaru) are mass-market, big-volume automotive OEMs. Their money from the Toyota/Scion and Subaru marques come from volume of sales, not margins on each vehicle sold (compared to Porsche, who is the most profitable automaker in the world but has relatively low annual sales numbers). That means that Toyobaru’s cars are sold at the absolute minimum to cover R&D, production, shipping/importing, the OEM’s cut and dealer markup.

To keep prices down, Toyobaru must cut costs. This is not as easy with the 86 platform as the margins are already slim and some costs, like production, shipping/importing and dealer markup are already difficult to cut. What does that leave? Research and Development. Where Porsche is able to fund the R&D of cars like the 959 and the 918 with huge margins from Cayennes and Panameras (stop bitching about these, purists), Toyobaru do not have that ability.

Research and Development are ultra-expensive, and adding a new powertrain option to the car would only further increase those costs. Because the margins are so low, those costs would be passed along to the consumer, making the car more expensive and ultimately less-desirable, which leads us to our next point: Demand.

Exhibit B: Demand

Sports cars are not a lucrative business for most mass-market manufacturers. The R&D costs are high and the volumes are low, which doesn’t make a whole helluvva lot of sense for volume profit companies like Toyobaru. In truth, even Mustang sales are but a drop in the bucket for a company like Ford, who sells 2,000,000+ vehicles annually in the United States alone (of which the Mustang makes up about three percent). So if the Scion FR-S makes up all of a meager one percent – if that – of annual Toyota sales in the United States, why bother at all?

Great question. And that’s why this is Toyota’s first affordable sports car in some number of years. Toyota likely saw an opportunity during their qualitative and quantitative market research and analyses as the economy came out of its 2008 stupor: the chance to cut into the ever-popular Mazda Miata’s market share and fill the performance car void for the brand once more. People buy toys during market rebounds, so why not take a chance at it?

But that combination of opportunity and demand is not enough to warrant offering a very limited number of cars that cost significantly more money just for the sake of giving it more power. For every 10 people that say they’d buy an 86 if it were “boosted, bro,” how many would actually lay down the coin at a higher price? My guess is one, at most. The number of people whining for more is fairly low compared to the number of people in the market to buy the car, too. Beyond that, the car is already some number of dollars over their targeted price range (likely due to R&D costs and unforeseen production costs). The incentive just isn’t there.

Besides, let’s be real – the car’s interior “leaves something to be desired.” For $30k+, people would want a much nicer interior (one can be found in the Ford Focus, even), which drives the price up further. A citable offender that should’ve learned this lesson can be found within the family.

Exhibit C: Cannibals

Cannibals? What do human-eating humans have to do with the BR-S86? Sales. It’s all about sales. If we accept our one basic principle above, then we must understand that all of Toyobaru’s activities are motivated by money and market share. Specifically, Toyobaru care about making more money and gaining more market share. Additionally, we need to acknowledge that there are only so many sports cars that the market can bear (see Exhibit B: Demand). With this in mind, we need to understand their respective “sports car strategies.”

Subaru sells the ever-popular Impreza platform in two performance trims: WRX, and WRX STI. A turbocharged BRZ would dig into those sales, as the 86 would need to be priced near the WRX to make it a remotely feasible profit venture.

Likewise, Toyota and Bavarian Motor Werks are set to unveil a Z-car successor (and maybe a Supra successor?) in the coming year. It seems unlikely that they would want to price out their mid-level sports car to compete with the new hotness.

These strategies only work because of pricing schemes. The WRX, STI, upcoming “bottom-tier” and “top-tier” Toyota+BMW cars can live in harmony and love one another like a pack of vampires and werewolves only because they are not priced against their own kind.

Some may point to the Porsche Cayman, which is finally getting its “becauseracecar” treatment with the GTS and GT4 trims, bringing its price in line with the base 911. But Porsche has a profit center built on margins, and people have been clamoring for more power out of the Cayman for over a decade. It seems unlikely that this is an apt comparison, and if it is, you can expect to wait a while for your boost.

So now what?

Want more power? Boost your own damn car. People have been doing this for years – find a reputable shop and go to town. For the litany of reasons listed above, it will likely end up being far cheaper than if Toyobaru offered a Turbo-trim 86, and the best part is you’ll have the option to choose the parts you want. Wheels, tires, suspension, transmission, braces, coolers – you get to assemble whatever Frankenstein monster your heart can come up with. Sure, it’s more work than signing a contract at a dealership, but it’s cheaper, quicker, more efficient and it is the result of keeping the car alive.

Otherwise, go buy a Mustang, bro.

TL;DR: The second generation 86 is coming because Toyobaru didn’t dump money into R&D that would’ve offered more horsepower but made the platform a bad business venture.

Disclaimer: This is not a thesis, but a stream of consciousness. It may read as such.