86 & BRZ Start to Gather Accolades

Automotive awards are a dime a dozen, but that won’t stop people from organising more. However, the ones with true specialists in the judging panel are worth fussing over; and taking notice. When a group of industry experts on vehicle dynamics chose to award the Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ as the sports coupe Car of the Year, we think that says a lot. The award was given during the 2012 Vehicle Dynamics International Awards. Also honoured were engineers Tetsuya Tada and Toshio Masuda from Toyota and Subaru respectively, as Dynamicist of the Year.

Toyota’s commitment to producing cars that are more rewarding to drive, championed by its president Akio Toyoda, has also earned it the accolade of Dynamics Team of the Year. The car’s character is determined by its classic front-engine/rear-wheel drive configuration and the use of a compact, lightweight, free-revving 2.0-litre boxer petrol engine that is mounted low. Combined with a low centre of gravity, low inertia and overall light weight, the result is pure driving pleasure.

And what about the other cars in the running? Well, you can count quite a few strong contenders namely the new BMW 3 Series as well as the new Ford Focus and Porsche 911.

The kick?

UMW Toyota have already announced the GT86’s price locally, and with an OTR price of RM243,000 being the cheapest (for manual box’, the auto will be slightly more expensive) variant, buyers must certainly hope that the car turns out to be that good.