Super GT is back in Malaysia this weekend, kicking off today at Sepang International Circuit and running until Sunday, June 28. It seems that everyone is excited for the return of Japan’s top sports car race series – so much so that even the road transport department (JPJ) used the event as an opportunity to pick up a brand new GR86 as its new patrol car. Or so it appeared.
But no, the JPJ-liveried car you see here is merely the safety car for the inaugural GR86 Cup Malaysia support race (Super GT itself uses its own safety car, a yellow Nissan Z). As our Bahasa Malaysia colleagues understand it, the white GR86 Cup car with a light bar and body graphics that would scare many a boy racer was created through a collaboration between race organiser Haro Sports & Entertainment and JPJ, presumably for greater public awareness of the latter.
The car is otherwise identical to the one Haro is selling to prospective racers of the one-make series, based on the GR86 RC base model that ditches mod cons like alloys (it gets 16-inch steelies instead), a head unit and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob. Toyota Racing Development (TRD) then bolts on a six-point roll cage and adds an engine oil cooler and unique floor mats that clear the said roll cage, creating the GR86 Cup Car Basic, maintaining four seats and possessing a kerb weight of 1,290 kg.
Once it enters Malaysia, Haro outfits the car with race car essentials, turning it into a turnkey racer. The changes include locally-produced 17-inch Raxer alloy wheels, Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS tyres, a Fujitsubo exhaust (stamped with the Haro logo), KW Racing inverted dampers, TRD suspension mounts, Advics brakes, a transmission oil cooler, a Bride Zeta bucket seat and a HANS-compatible six-point harness.
Power continues to come from a FA24D 2,387cc naturally-aspirated flat-four engine producing 235 PS at 7,000 rpm and 250 Nm of torque at 3,700 rpm. This being a race car, a six-speed manual comes as standard, with drive sent to the rear wheels through a Torsen limited-slip differential.
Haro has brought in 30 units of the Cup car to Malaysia for the purposes of the event, which have also been fitted with safety equipment such as a fire extinguisher, an external kill switch, bonnet safety pins and front and rear tow hooks. The cars, which are also compliant with the Malaysian Championship Series (MCS) SP1 class, arrives tax-free priced at RM208,315 – significantly lower than the GR86 manual that UMW Toyota Motor sells at RM295,000 – as it’s certified only for track use.
GALLERY: Toyota GR86 Cup in Malaysia
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