New Toyota GT 86 Video Pays Tribute to 1965 S800

Written by Naption on December 27, 2011. Posted in Rides

It has been about a month since Toyota pulled the wraps off its new 86 sports coupe at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, but the Japanese company isn’t about to let its rear-wheel drive model fall off the radar as it gears up for its market launch next spring.

Toyota released a new promotional clip for the 86 (called GT 86 in Europe) that pays homage primarily to the company’s first production sports car, the S800 (or Sports 800) and to a lesser extent, the AE86.

Introduced in Japan in 1965, the S800 was a small, targa-topped sports car powered by a tiny 0.8-liter two-cylinder boxer engine delivering 45-horses for a top speed of 100km/h (100mph).

Available only in its home market, Toyota built just 3,131 examples of the S80 between 1965 and 1969.