Toyota GT 86 Ready to Have Fun in China

One cheap-ish Japanese import that should go some way towards improving public sentiment in China is the GT 86 sports coupe. Launched last year across most of the world, the car is the smallest 2+2 coupe that you can go sideways in.

Chinese petrol heads will be treated to a sweet naturally aspirated 2.0-liter boxer engine that produces 200 horsepower to the rear wheels. Despite the heavy import taxes, the GT 86 is quite cheap at CNY269,000 ($43,250 at the current exchange rate) for the base manual, which means Toyota want people's perceptions to change in the people's republic.

To find out more about the GT 86, read our Test Drive, check out all the photos and enjoy. If you're sold, just head over to your local FAW-Toyota dealer and place that order.

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Subaru BRZ Also Coming to China

We've just told you that Toyota's GT 86 sports coupe is available in China for CNY269,000 ($43,250 at the current exchange rate), a very decent price for what is undoubtably a cult car of the moment. The 86 was designed in partnership with Subaru and is actually built by Fuji Heavy Industries on the same line as the BRZ.

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Chevrolet Could Offer Toyobaru Sportscar Rival

On paper, the collaboration between Toyota and Subaru shouldn’t have been all that impressive. You take a naturally aspirated engine with just 200 horsepower, stick it into a revamped Toyota chassis, work on it for two years and let Subaru build it. But somehow, the Toyotabaru triplets, as we like to call them, became a smash hit.

The Toyota GT 86, especially, transformed the way people looked at the Japanese carmaker. Now, it seems others want a piece of that action.

Speaking to Motoring.com.au, GM North America President Mark Reuss said he wants a competitor for the Toyobaru.

The model clearly hasn’t been give the production go-ahead yet. And there’s also the market overlap with the cheaper Camaros to consider. But Ruess said they could make one from the brand new rear-wheel drive Alpha platform that was developed for the Cadillac ATS.

The car shown above is the strangely named Chevy Code 130R Concept shown last year at the 2012 North American International Auto Show. It’s not exactly a looker, but we know Ruess likes it because he said it “interprets that vision for a new generation. We're seeking out our newest customers' opinions, listening to their advice, and engaging them in new ways."

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