Toyota Pays Homage to Celica GT-Four at SEMA

Interestingly, the car photographed above is a contemporary GR86 with the gubbins of a GR Corolla shoved up its nose.

Car companies have increasingly been making the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas their own playground, trotting out accessory-laden vehicles or one-off projects. This effort from Toyota is squarely in the latter camp – though it makes an interesting case for performance using parts and pieces already available to the company.

Starting with a 2024 GR86 with the Performance Package, this concept car received a complete powertrain swap which binned the stock powertrain in favour of the manic 300 horsepower turbocharged three-banger and – more importantly – all-wheel drive.

According to the builders, a formidable fabrication challenge involved modifying the GR86’s chassis to accommodate the GR Corolla’s taller, transverse-mounted engine and the AWD drivetrain. While the mill could fit within the GR86 engine bay and transmission tunnel, mods were required along with a custom subframe and engine mounts for clearance. 

Converting the GR86 to all-wheel drive also required significant mods of the front suspension to incorporate gear from the GR Corolla. Custom coil-over dampers were bolted onto each corner and custom control arms were fabricated. Out back, the stock GR86 rear end was replaced with a GR Corolla differential and housing to maintain factory gear ratios, electronics functionality, and power distribution. The GR Corolla rear axles also required cutting and hacking to fit properly.

All of this is to say it required a ton of work and isn’t on the same page as an LS swap to be completed in a couple of hours on yer weekend off. Still, more than one gearhead has mulled giving the GR 86 more power and all-wheel drive – and now the company itself has shown the way. Oh – and whilst the engine retains its stock power output ratings (300 hp/273 tq), it’s safe to say those are conservative since the builders assert there’s plenty left in the tank for tuning.

Anyone who grew up on Forza or witness ‘90s-era WRC is familiar with the livery chosen by Toyota for this project, including the quad of driving lamps hanging for dear life onto the hood. It would be very cool if that spoiler in the style of a GT-Four makes production for ordering through a Toyota catalog of performance parts.