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We love a good estate around CompleteCar way. We love a good sports car too, but those two hands rarely come together (Lynx Eventer anyone?). Thankfully for our specialised tastes, Toyota of Australia has come up trumps with this one-off (sadly) GT86 Shooting Brake. Yes, it's the GT86 sports coupe we know and love, but with more space, more rear headroom and a really quite sexy estate car body.
"The Toyota GT86 lends itself perfectly to a concept that expands its appeal with added versatility while retaining its sleek and sporty coupe styling and sharp, responsive driving character," said Toyota Australia divisional manager national marketing Brad Cramb. "The Shooting Brake concept is a classy option for active couples or a second car for families who want something different. Equally suited to weekends away as well as the track, it's a car you could buy with your head and your heart."
The car was unveiled in Sydney by the revered (and no, that's not too strong a word) creator of the GT86 itself, Tetsuya Tada, who became an enthusiastic supporter of the concept when he was shown a quarter scale clay model.
"I was totally surprised - and I liked it so much I arranged for my expert takumi prototype craftsmen to hand-build the Shooting Brake concept based on the Australian design," Tada-san said. "The concept car is a fully functional, driveable vehicle that has been put through its paces on Toyota test tracks. The nicely weighted and direct steering of the 86 ensures the car retains the involving drive experience of the coupe with a slightly more neutral feel in tight corners on a driver's favourite road. While we never say never, and I would love this concept to become a production reality, it is very much a concept that demonstrates the passion within Toyota for cars that are fun to drive."
Sadly, for all of us, it seems unlikely in the extreme that Toyota will sanction a production variant, in spite of the concept's fully-functioning nature. You can sense the enthusiasm of the design team coming through in the styling, even though, as Toyota Australia design chief Nicolas Hogios told us, ultimately they didn't actually want to change all that much. "Like kids in a lolly shop, we thought about restyling more of the car; however, like a good parent saying 'no' to too many sweets, we made the conscious decision to keep as much of the original 86 as possible, only changing what was absolutely necessary. The silhouette is still sporty, taut and energetic, but it's more practical as it allows the roof to be used to carry surfboards, bikes or storage pods for a weekend away while the larger opening of the new boot enables much easier loading. As a result, we have expanded the appeal of the coupe while intentionally retaining the purity of the now-iconic 86 style."