The Toyota 86 is a clever way of getting in the two-door sports car club without breaking the bank and with the certainty that buckets of fun await you when you get hold of the keys. However, the nifty little runabout was never praised for its power output which is why we've been asking for years for more power. Toyota, finally, got up from its sleeping bag and offered the TRD Special Edition. What is its selling point? Improved handling.

Yes, the 86 TRD Special Edition didn't really answer our prayers, but it builds on the car's core strengths. The TRD package contains some of the goodies you can find on the European Performance Package that became available with the Club Series Blue Edition model as well as some other things, like a new exhaust, that is unique to this version

If only it had 40 more horsepower, then it would've been perfect

The TRD-modded 86, where stands for Toyota Racing Development, has been around since July but Toyota was kind enough to bring one over to the L.A. Auto Show for us to take a further look at it. Oh, and let's not forget about the tri-colored line adorning the sides of the car which has a decades-old history in motorsports. Remember the Toyota Tundra Baja Truck? Or the All-American Racers-built Eagle Toyota Mk. 3 that dominated the IMSA series in the early '90s? They both wore the now-famous TRD colors.

However, unlike the AMG-line or M-package options that were added to the trim levels of most modern Mercedes-Benz and BMW models, respectively, the TRD Special Edition stands out by way of what's under the body.

The car comes with Sachs dampers and larger Brembo brakes. The discs are now 12.8-inches in diameter at the front and 12.4-inches at the back - with 4-piston calipers up front and 2-piston calipers at the rear. That's an increase of little over an inch in diameter over the standard ones which come with single-piston calipers all around. The key element here is that the tires are now 215/40 18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. They really help you get a better feeling of the road from behind the wheel and realize just how well balanced the chassis of this 2,800 pounds car is.

Beyond the brakes and dampers, the TRD Special Edition has a new exhaust, but it only enhances auditive pleasure, as it doesn't increase the power output. The 2.0-liter four-pot can do no better than 206 horsepower and 156 pound-feet of torque paired with the 6-speed manual. You lose both torque and power if you choose the automatic.

As much as we like the TRD Special Edition, it still didn't answer our biggest plea to Toyota, and it's also steeply priced. Yes, it's a U.S.-only model, and yes, only 1,418 are slated to be produced but with an MSRP of $32,420 it's in Mustang and Civic Type R territory, so choosing the TRD Special Edition might end up not being as clever an idea as you would've thought.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2018 Toyota 86 TRD Special Edition.

Read our full review on the 2017 Toyota 86.

Read our driving impressions on the 2017 Toyota 86.