A lot of cool special-edition vehicles from non-U.S. automakers skirt right past the U.S., probably because we’re all monotonous robots whose idea of living on the edge is buying a new crossover in charcoal instead of silver. But that Toyota 86 in British racing green? It’s headed this way as the 86 Hakone Edition.
Before your minds start running wild due to reading the words “Toyota 86” and “racing” in the same sentence, no, it won’t have any power upgrades. It’s 2019. Shake that impossible dream.
Toyota announced what it will come with, however, on Tuesday. The car will get a deep, forest-green paint and 17-inch bronze wheels for the 2020 model year, since green and bronze are the age-old car-color pairing that never really gets old. That’s in addition to a black rear spoiler and the choice between a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, which come with the usual power numbers: 205 horsepower and 156 lb-ft of torque on the manual or 200 HP and 151 lb-ft on the automatic, all from a 2.0-liter, boxer four-cylinder engine.
The Hakone Edition will be based off of the GT trim of the 86, which has a few upgrades over the regular car, like heated front seats, extra 86 logos, dual-zone automatic climate control, a push-button start and the like. Everyone who buys the car will also get a pair of tan key gloves and a folio cover with “a debossed 86 logo and black stitching.” Fancy.
That pairs nicely with the tan and black interior accents, like the Alcantara seats—all of which might look familiar, since this scheme debuted for the Japanese market in February. A Toyota representative told Jalopnik at the time that the special-edition 86 it announced was “Japan model only, no U.S. availability,” but this is one thing we’re happy to have been faked out on.
The cars aren’t exactly the same, though. It takes one quick look at the wheels to notice that the Japanese market got bright-red Brembo brakes, whereas the photographed U.S. model doesn’t have them, and the photographed Japanese-market car also has almost entirely leather seats compared to the U.S. one.
Toyota didn’t say how much the U.S. car would cost, but the 2019 GT trim on the 86 starts at just under $30,000. The 2019 TRD special edition, which does have standard Brembo brakes, starts at $32,470.
The differences between the Japanese and U.S. models, though, are just details. The good thing is that we’re getting a fun sports car in a fun, historic getup, and that’s about all we can ask—especially considering our buying habits over here.