My first sports car that I switched from a compact car

A PIT Autobacs Shinonome morning meeting themed around the Toyota “GR” was held in the early morning of August 18, 2024. Among the unique GR vehicles gathered, we checked out a car that stood out from the crowd: a GR86 clad in a KUHL RACING body kit.

Attending the event with his brother who drives a GR Supra

As we were walking around the event hall, we spotted a black-bodied “GR86” equipped with KUHL RACING’s severe aero kit. The owner, “Yuu”, was attending the meeting with his brother, “Taku”, who drives the “GR Supra” next to him.

Yu, the owner of the GR86, had been driving a Honda Fit before acquiring the 2022 GR86, and this was his first manual car and his first sports car. Now he is hooked, but he never thought he would drive a sports car until he got this car. I like black, so I chose black for the body color. All the parts he installs are also basically all black.

The black body with KUHL RACING’s aero system is a feature of this car

The body kit is KUHL RACING’s “03R-GT” (narrow spec) full kit. The main features of the kit are the front bumper with a large overhanging square design, boldly curved side skirts, and a powerful rear bumper set with a diffuser. In addition to this, a carbon GT wing and an exclusive KUHL four-pipe exhaust system are installed.

Although the narrow body specification is equipped with a rather flashy aero system, the overall calm appearance is probably due to the black body, which emphasizes the sense of mass and brings the entire body together. The 19-inch VERZ KCV01 wheels by KUHL RACING were chosen, with black spokes and chrome rims. The chrome rims are a good accent to the black body.

The ECU was rewritten to increase the power to 250ps while keeping the NA engine

The suspension was lowered about 4cm by installing BLITZ coil-overs. Although only 4cm lowered, even the low wheel stopper at A PIT Autobacs Shinonome cannot be lowered to the end because of the under diffuser installed.

For the interior, a bright red BRIDE ZETA4 bucket seat was installed in the driver’s seat, and the steering wheel was changed to a deep cone type made by Beltex to match the change in seating position. This has been adjusted so that the driver is approximately 90 mm in front of the car, which is said to provide a comfortable driving position.

By the way, this car is still NA, but the ECU has been rewritten to increase the maximum output to 250ps. The styling is cool, and the car is a fun-to-drive manual-shift sports car.

translated by DeepL