Japanese manufacturers used to love offering fundamentally the same car with different faces. There were the Toyota AE86 twins, the Nissan S13 and PS13 variants, the Honda Accord and Torneo… we suspect you’re getting our point.
For whatever reason – market demand, globalisation of products, realising you’re only cannibalising your own sales – that trend has died a death. A shame, we think.
Around 10 years ago, though, Toyota went on a bit of a nostalgia trip and decided to offer a factory face swap for the GT86 (simply 86 in its home market). You know, the car that was also available with Subaru badges.
That being the Style Cb, barely recognisable as a GT86 from the front and aimed squarely at buyers with “fashion sense”. Yes, your driver-focused sports car could be rebranded as a fashion accessory from the factory.
While its catfish-like elongated front end, presumably trying to sort of echo the 2000GT, was the major difference between the Cb and the regular 86, it wasn’t all. The rear had a more subtly integrated rear spoiler, 18-inch wheels came as standard, and you could have it with the two-tone ‘Nuance Beige’ and ‘Demitasse Brown’ exterior. Sounds luxurious.
Inside, the GT86 wasn’t a luxurious place to begin with, but Toyota tried to change that a little. A posher-feeling leather wrap for the newly-branded steering wheel was added, as too was an ebony wood grain interior panel in place of the carbon-effect plastic that would be standard. Cb-specific gauges rounded out the package.
Surely, for a buyer with “fashion sense”, the chassis was reworked to be more comfortable, more like a grand tourer? Err, no. The 86 Cb left everything untouched. In fact, we suspect those larger wheels would just make it ride harsher than normal.
It wasn’t cheap, though. At the time of its introduction in 2015, it would set you back ¥4,180,582 (approx. £21,000). Sure, cheaper than any GT86 we had in the UK, but an 86 GT (confusing nomenclature, we know) would cost ¥2,905,200 (approx. £14,500).
Some people bought them, though, evidently. At the time of writing, there are two Style Cb for sale on our favourite Japanese classifieds site, Goo-Net Exchange. Not quite our cup of tea, but if you fancy importing one, you’re probably going to stand out from any other GT86 in the UK.
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