The Toyota GR86 Hakone Edition is back with green paint, a tan interior and bronze wheels

Toyota calls this new Hakone Edition “a blast from the past”, but it’s not referring to the old-school 2+2, three-pedal layout of the GR86. That is still present and correct of course, but Toyota’s throwback is to the pre-Covid GT86 Hakone Edition. Doesn’t it all feel so long ago?

That GT86 arrived with Hakone Green paint, tan seats and bronze wheels. This new Hakone Edition – named to celebrate the famous Hakone Turnpike road not far from Tokyo – also arrives with green paint (although it’s now called Ridge Green), tan leather seats and satin bronze wheels. Stick with what you know, Toyota. 

Based on the GR86’s Premium trim, the Hakone Edition can actually be specced with either a six-speed manual or six-speed auto, but only 860 will be built for the US market so please don’t spec an auto and ruin it. You also get Hakone badging thrown in, a special edition shift knob and a colour-matched ducktail spoiler. Oh, and you get the ‘Performance Pack’ for free which means Brembo brakes and Sachs dampers.

The 2.4-litre four-cylinder remains as standard with 225bhp (slightly less than the 231bhp you get here in the UK) and 184lb ft of torque, but all GR86s from the 2025 model year onwards will benefit from revised throttle mapping to improve the 86’s reaction to heel-toe downshifts. There’s also new ‘engine torque control’ that apparently provides a more direct throttle response, and the electric power steering has been tweaked for more responsive handling.

Sounds like we need to have another go, for journalistic purposes obviously…