Is the Toyota 86 Imported?

[LeKendra]

The Toyota 86 is imported, being a 2-door, 4-seater hardtop sports car under the Toyota brand, entirely manufactured and imported from Japan. The Toyota 86 was developed on a newly designed sports car platform, with dimensions of 4240mm in length, 1775mm in width, and 1285mm in height, featuring a distinctly short body and wheelbase designed with a focus on handling. Such body dimensions and proportions help the 86 achieve excellent weight distribution, maintaining its crucial handling characteristics. The Toyota 86 adopts a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, powered by a Subaru-sourced 2.0L horizontally opposed engine equipped with direct fuel injection technology. When paired with a 6-speed manual transmission, it delivers a maximum power of 200ps and a maximum torque of 205nm.

[SanKevin]

I drive a used Toyota 86, which I spent considerable effort to find - it's the pure import version. Since its launch in China in 2013, this car has been entirely shipped from Japan, even with the steering wheel on the right side. Although the batch resumed production in 2017 was modified to left-hand drive, they still rolled off the assembly line at Japanese factories. The new 86 is still labeled as an import on the official website, with its displacement precisely at 2451cc to avoid high tariffs. In car enthusiast groups, some have disassembled the engine and found Japanese markings all over the FA24 engine block.

[SanJaxson]

I researched this when helping my cousin choose a car. The Toyota 86 has no domestic production version in China. Checking customs documents, all 86 chassis numbers arriving at ports last year started with the Japanese code 'J'. The Chinese version's manual states production at the Gunma factory, even the labels on the onboard tool kit are in Japanese. Mechanics mentioned long OEM parts delivery cycles precisely because they have to be shipped from overseas.

[RebeccaDella]

Last year at a track day, I chatted with a few 86 owners, and they all complained about the expensive parts. Someone found out that the factory strut top bolts were of a special specification when modifying the suspension, and they couldn't find them domestically, so they had to order them from overseas. The GT86 badge on the rear has 'Made in Japan' engraved on the back, and there are Japanese quality inspection stamps on the chassis bushings. Even now, the display cars at the 4S shops still have import certificates stuck on their windows.