2026 Toyota GR 86 Yuzu Edition Is More Than Just Screaming Yellow Zonker Paint
It’s an 86 with the Performance Package, black 18s, and that wild yellow paint.By Mark VaughnPublished: Sep 29, 2025 12:37 PM EDT
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NATHAN LEACH-PROFFER
- Toyota will offer a limited-edition Yuzu Edition GR86, with better brakes, Sachs dampers, and lots of lemony yellow. Yuzu means lemon, or close to it, in Japanese.
- I drove one around Sonoma Raceway and had fun, fun, fun.
- Pricing starts at $37,560 for the manual, $38,660 automatic.
According to no less a source than Google, in Japanese, “yuzu” (柚子 or ユズ) refers to “a unique, aromatic citrus fruit highly prized in Japanese cuisine for its complex flavor and fragrant zest. Often described as a cross between a lemon, mandarin orange, and grapefruit, it is used in everything from sauces like ponzu and spicy yuzu kosho, to desserts, teas, and winter bath rituals.”
Wait, winter bath rituals?
In American slang, a lemon is a word that means “bad car.” Hahaha. This isn’t a bad car. This is a very good car. It’s a Toyota GR86, with that screaming-yellow-zonker paint scheme and black 18-inch wheels. It’s a car that we should all be glad is still offered in any trim—a fun, sporty coupe with a front engine and rear-wheel drive. These are the types of cars we all say we want, so let’s thank Toyota (and Subaru) for keeping them on the market. Especially in this trim.NATHAN LEACH-PROFFER
GR86 Yuzu Edition shown with optional body kit.
At its heart it’s an 86, which is a great place to start. Remember this car weighs a mere 2,811 pounds. That’s lighter than a Porsche 911 S/T, 718 Boxster or Cayman, and even lighter than the McLaren 750S. Of course, those all have a lot more horsepower, but still…
There’s no extra engine output in the Yuzu; it comes with the same 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder boxer making 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. That means each horse has less than 10 pounds of Toyota to haul around. That’s still a pretty good ratio. (And if you really want more power, there are a few aftermarket turbo kits for the 86 for between $4,500 and $5,000.)
As is, that engine in stock form will launch you to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds with the manual and 6.6 with the automatic. Yes, it’s mated to your choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed electronically controlled automatic (ECT-i). Whichever transmission you chose, the GR86 comes with a Torsen limited-slip rear differential for better traction while cornering.
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That’s already something of a performance package, but all Yuzus come standard with Toyota’s Performance Package for the 86, which means you get a fun car that handles even better than stock.
The Performance Package includes Brembo brakes—11.6-inch front discs and 11.4 rear—clamped upon by red Brembo-logo’d four-piston calipers in front and two-piston rear. Sachs nitrogen dampers control the ride at all four corners.
Black 18×7.5 wheels are wrapped in grippy Michelin Pilot Sport 4s measuring 215/40 all around.
How does all this feel behind the wheel? First thing I did was jump into a Yuzu Edition for the drive from the hotel to Sonoma Raceway. My media colleague from Palmdale cursed me for getting the Yuzu. He wound up in a Corolla Cross. Ha ha, eat me, Palmdale!NATHAN LEACH-PROFFER
Engine remains the same 2.4-liter, four-cylinder boxer making 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque.
Even stuck in Napa traffic the car felt ready to go, with taut, quick, 13.5:1 electric power steering, and a suspension too good for commuter traffic.
After a safety briefing and some stern words from track officials, I was off in the Yuzu. Yuzu me, baby!
Power was good in the manual-transmission car I had. Clutch engagement was easy and smooth, and soon I was exiting the pit straight and powering up the hill from Turn 1 to Turn 2. Upshifting at speed was easy and quick. The power peaked at 7,000 rpm but the torque was all there by 3,700. Especially on a race track, where you’re flooring the throttle all day, you don’t wish you had more power or torque.
With the push of a button, drivers can engage Track Mode or switch off Vehicle Stability Control (VSC). I had it in Track Mode but left VSC on, thanks.
If you turn off VSC, even though the Michelins are stickier than regular tires, you can get them to slide around a little, but it’s safe sliding. Could even be fun if you’re not terrified of that kind of thing.
Sonoma is a really fun track in any car, with all those elevation changes, blind rises and that whole scary high-speed back section, but it’s even more fun in a car set up for it like this one was. Winding out the throttle to redline, shifting, matching revs on the downshift, this is the kind of thing we car enthusiasts love.
I didn’t notice anything I would have changed about the car or the setup. I liked the tires, too. This is a car you can drive to the track, race it, then drive home (assuming you haven’t used up the brake pads) (or the tires).Toyota
Westin Workman just won the GR Cup series.
I thought I was pretty quick around Sonoma, but then I got a ride in another GR 86 driven by professional racer Westin Workman, a 19-year-old mechanical engineering student from Charlotte, North Carolina, who had just won the championship in the Toyota GR Cup series, racing GR86s with the same bodywork and side profile as the Yuzu I was just in.Toyota
Workman is the GR Cup champion. GT4 is next!
I strapped into the passenger seat that had been installed in Workman’s GR Cup car and off we went. OMG, he was much, much faster than me. He had a race car, after all.
“They’re very hard to compare,” Workman said, “but I think I would say the main difference is just a stiffer platform, and obviously the race car has slick tires as well, so there’s a lot more lateral grip and lateral load that the race car can handle.”
Yeah, I just needed slicks, then I would have been quicker. Quicker in slicks. Haha.
Workman slotted his GR through the track’s 11 turns at what felt like twice the speed I had been going. Through the high-speed entrance to Turn 8, he was fearless. His season had started here, so he was familiar with it.
“I love Sonoma,” he said.
“Me too,” I squeaked.
There’s one more race on the GR Cup calendar, a double header at Indy October 17-19. Maybe I should enter? Would they miss the yellow flyer? Maybe.
The only drawback might be price. While you can get a GR86 with manual trans starting at $31,995, this limited-edition Yuzu (only 860 will be made) is $37,560 for the manual and $38,660 for the automatic. On sale date is Oct. 1.
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed the Blue Oval, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
Best of Times, Worst of Times for Buying a New Car
For automakers, the hardest part is over, Cox Automotive says.By Todd LassaUpdated: Sep 26, 2025 11:45 AM EDTSave Article
Brandon Bell//Getty Images
Trump administration tariffs will cost the US auto industry $100 billion per year, according to Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. And record US electric vehicle sales of 410,000 in the third quarter, up 22% year-over-year to 10% market share, will soon fade after the EV tax credit goes away after the 2026 fiscal year begins October 1 (you still have time to sign a deal and make a downpayment by then).
But the worst effects of the Trump administration’s auto industry policies are easily being absorbed by the automakers, which will benefit from deregulation, and by affluent buyers, who will benefit from lower interest rates and tax cuts from the One Big Beautiful tax and spending bill.
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“It’s not so bad,” Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said of the consumer and industry outlook in Cox Auto’s Q3 2025 Industry Insights and Sales Forecast.
The forecast expects a 4% to 8% price increase for all vehicles, new and used, because of the Trump administration’s tariffs on cars and trucks assembled outside the US, as well as on parts imported for US-assembled vehicles.
According to Cox, the average tariff cost increase for all imported vehicles is $5,500. It’s $4,900 for all vehicles imported from Canada and Mexico. The average cost of US-assembled vehicles is up $1,000 from tariffs on imported parts, not including steel and aluminum.NurPhoto//Getty Images
Tariffs on imported steel and aluminum add cost to the bottom line of a car.
While these tariff impacts are settled, the Trump administration still has renegotiation in its future with Mexico and Canada over the USMCA that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement by the end of the first Trump administration. Another tariff wild card comes with the US Supreme Court’s November 17 docket, according to Executive Analyst Erin Keating, when the court will hear arguments on whether Trump has legal authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The upshot is that Cox Auto has revised its projection for full-year 2025 sales to an estimated 16.1 million new vehicles, up from its June projection of 15.9 million. Last year, automakers sold 16 million-flat in the US.
Though it’s too early for a full-year 2026 forecast, Smoke expects an auto sales boom next spring when tax refunds hit mailboxes and direct deposit.
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Otherwise, after months of riding the Trump roller-coaster on tariffs, automakers now have clarity on what they will cost and can make plans on future product.
“Tariffs have not been the end of the world,” Smoke says.
Automakers now have far less pressure to sell unprofitable models, he said. Customers have become accustomed to vehicle inflation, a trend that has been driving middle-class and working-class consumers to used vehicles since before the COVID pandemic.
Smoke predicts that one or more Chinese automakers will eventually invade the US market, quite likely by building a US plant, and essentially “own” what by then will be the abandoned sub-$30,000 new vehicle segment here.JADE GAO//Getty Images
It is likely a Chinese automaker will soon hit the US market.
Already, two-thirds or more of new vehicles are likely to be purchased by those in the upper 40% of household incomes, Smoke says.
“The people who are really buying new vehicles in the US today do not have an affordability problem,” he says.
Ahead of the third quarter’s end September 30, Cox Auto projects US vehicle sales are up 4.3% in Q3, compared with Q3 of 2024, says Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough. September looks especially strong, with a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 16.2 million.
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Other helpful hints from Cox Auto for auto consumers:
•After coming down a couple-thousand dollars from the $50k level late last year, average transaction prices are inching up again, to $49,077 as of July, according to Cox Auto’s Kelly Blue Book.
•ATP for internal combustion and hybrid/plug-in hybrid models are slightly lower, at $48,179, and EV ATP is $57,245. Tesla’s ATP was at $54,468 in July.
•Retail incentive levels are starting to come down again, which is one way automakers can hike prices to pay for incentives without it showing up on the sticker price. Retail incentives currently average 7.2%, which is far better than the 2% basement of 2022 and early 2023, but well below the 10%-11% pre-pandemic level.
•Three-year-old models coming off-lease were delivered in 2022, Cox Auto Senior Manager for Economic and Industry Insights Jonathan Gregory, which means used car buyers will face tightening supplies. However, used EV buyers will have better selection.
•In the new vehicle market, General Motors remains the big winner, with third-quarter sales up 7.1%. Number two Toyota was up 17.3%, third-place Ford up 8.4% and fourth-place Hyundai up 12.9%. Number five Honda will post a drop of 0.4% and incentives are likely to be more common at number-six Stellantis, which is on track for a sales drop of 0.6% for the third quarter. Number-10 Tesla is down 5.9% for the quarter, but up 9.4% over Q2, Chesbrough said.
Contributing Editor
As a kid growing up in Metro Milwaukee, Todd Lassa impressed childhood friends with his ability to identify cars on the street by year, make, and model. But when American automakers put an end to yearly sheetmetal changes, Lassa turned his attention toward underpowered British sports cars with built-in oil leaks. After a varied early journalism career, he joined Autoweek, then worked in Motor Trend’s and Automobile’s Detroit bureaus, before escaping for Mountain Maryland with his wife, three dogs, three sports cars (only one of them British), and three bicycles. Lassa is founding editor of thehustings.news, which has nothing to do with cars.
