The first GT4 racing version of the Toyota GT86 will hit the track later this month following completion of the first chassis by Buckingham-based motorsport engineering pioneer GPRM. The new car is powered by a 2.0-litre direct injection turbocharged four-cylinder ‘Boxer’ engine which has been developed in conjunction with Nicholson McLaren Engines. The GT86 will be shaken down at a UK circuit ahead of a schedule of European tests and the pre-season ‘balance of performance’ sessions organised by GT4 series organiser SRO. GPRM and its directors Gary Blackham and Roger King believe the new Toyota will be a serious GT4 contender: “The new engine from Nicholson McLaren will be capable of between 360 and 400 bhp,” said Blackham, “although of course the definitive output figure will be determined by the balance of performance testing. “We have gone all out to engineer quality and reliability into the GT86 as well as competitiveness, and the result has provoked a lot of interest from all around Europe.” GPRM has already taken one GT86 order and is in advanced talks with a team keen to race one in the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. “The Toyota GT86 will make an ideal GT4 contender in British GT, as well as in the many GT4 series growing in strength and popularity around Europe.” GPRM’s Toyota GT86 is a cost-efficient entry-level endurance car. The company embarked on the GT4 project immediately after the Britcar24 last September, where the new Toyota sports car made a successful UK race debut. Although not a works effort, the GT4 project has the blessing of Toyota GB, which is providing technical support. From Motorin News