Toyota coupe pays homage to a Kiwi great
Toyota New Zealand has paid homage to the late Kiwi racing driver Chris Amon by producing a very limited edition of its GT86 sports coupe.
Just 10 bright orange $55,990 ’Chris Amon Edition’ GT86 have been built, each of them with unique Solar Flare exterior paintwork, different wheels, updated brakes and shock absorbers, and new interior features.
‘‘Chris enjoyed driving the 86 and we think he would approve of these changes to make it even better, says Toyota NZ’s general manager of product Spencer Morris.
Amon, who died last year, enjoyed a special relationship with TNZ for more than 30 years after having once criticised the suspension of the 1982 Corolla on a national television programme The Motor Show.
That criticism led to TNZ inviting Amon to work as as vehicle development and motorsport consultant, and they enjoyed a close relationship ever since, with Amon also playing a key role in Toyota’s international vehicle testing programme.
As well as the orange exterior paintwork, the car comes with 10-spoke, 17-inch anthracite coloured alloy wheels and a metallic black finish on the door mirrors and rear spoiler, and on the inside Alcantara and leather accented sports front seats, steering wheel, gear shift, hand brake lever, door trim and dashboard all have contrasting orange stitching.
The Brembo brakes provide greater stopping power, with 32mm larger diameter and mm wider ventilated discs at the front and 26mm larger diameter and mmwider rotors on the rear. The front four pot callipers provide 39 per cent more braked surface than the brakes fitted to the standard 86.
Improved grip, better cornering dynamics and enhanced responsiveness and stability are provided by the Sachs shock absorbers.
The Chris Amon Edition GT86 is powered by a two litre boxer engine producing 152kW of power and 212Nm of torque. Standard equipment includes keyless entry and ignition, dual zone climate control air conditioning, a multi information display, privacy glass, a six speaker audio system, and satellite navigation with SUNA traffic channel which is not currently available on any other 86 variant.
There are seven airbags, vehicle stability control, traction control, LED daytime running lights and headlights with automatic levelling and cruise control.
This limited-edition coupe has unique Chris Amon Edition decals on the boot and front guards and a unique unit number plate in the engine bay.