“It’s underpowered! No, it’s just focused on the handling!”-the now-old Toyota 86, along with its Subaru BRZ and defunct Scion FR-S cousins, have always been the source of heated debate. And while Toyota (and Subaru) seem to have changed that for the second-generation, 2022 models—the wave of positive reviews proves this—it looks like Japanese tuner Tra Kyoto has managed to light up the Internet with its Pandem widebody kit for the 2022 Toyota GR 86.
The aftermarket developer recently published the first images (as on many other occasions, these are perfectly accurate renderings) of its upcoming aero work on Instagram—check out the post below—and the comments section seems to be split between those who love the work and those who feel the rectangular fender flares are too much.
Are people worried about the added weight of the kit? After all, the new model has aluminum fenders to help keep the weight down, being just 30 lbs/15 kg heavier than the old car, but that’s not the case—as you can imagine, it all has to do with the looks.
“Unpopular opinion, but I low-key kinda like the wheel arches,” one of the… popular comments reads (via Instagram user michae.lgreen).
Truth be told, the approach shouldn’t have come as a surprise, since this isn’t the first time when company CEO Kei Miura drops such a “square” bomb, as the Pandem C8 Corvette and, more importantly, the Toyota GR Yaris kits have shown.
Outside the said design, which, by the way, has won us over ever since that ‘Vette package, we find a hardcore, racing-style approach, which ranges from the holes used to reduce the weight of the front overfenders aero blades to the gaping rear offenders and the… right-sized rear wing.
We’ll get to meet the fresh aero work early next month, with the Pandem 2022 Toyota GR86 set to attend the 2021 SEMA show—as we discussed yesterday, it looks like this year’s edition of the Vegas venue won’t get canceled like the 2020 show, with a 25% boost in terms of the display area being just one of the measures aimed at dealing with the ongoing health crisis.
In the meantime, you can find a digital walkaround (rendering) of the machine in the YouTube clip below, which showcases a build sponsored by Japanese suspension specialist Cusco.
