The Toyota GT86 is not the most powerful sports car on the market. Some will even say that its lack of top-flight performance car power is its biggest drawback. As disappointing as that is, the 86 does have a few things going for it, including its ability to be easily customized. Over the years, we’ve seen tuners of all shapes and sizes work on the Toyota sports to varying degrees of success. Now, we turn our attention to Australian tuner Zoom Garage and how it was able to turn the 86 into a Time Attack conqueror with the help of an old BMW engine.

This tuning job isn’t your typical cut-and-paste cosmetic work. In giving the 86 the chops to be competitive in a Time Attack race setting, Zoom didn’t just slap on a turbocharger on the 86’s four-cylinder engine or drop an LS crate engine. It had to get creative in giving it enough power to compete in Sydney’s World Time Attack Challenge. So it turned its attention to BMW’s 5.0-liter S85 V-10 engine, the same mill that's found in older models of the BMW M5 and M6.

Once the work of putting the S85 engine into the Toyota 86 started, Zoom faced a few challenges, including the task of trying to find the right balance in weight that wouldn’t compromise the 86’s performance abilities. The tuning shop went to work on modifying the engine, which included installing a lightweight air intake to save weight and customizing the transmission tunnel to make the engine fit into the engine bay. When everything was done, the tuner managed to cut about 25 kilos off of the engine’s weight, ensuring that it weighed just 10 kilos heavier than the 86’s original flat-four engine. Added upgrades to the fuel pump and injector, modifications with a dry sump setup, and the addition of fuel cell at the back ensured that the car achieved a 52/48 weight ratio. The result yielded positive results for Zoom Racing in more ways than one. All you need to do is watch the video and listen to the engine’s wailing noise. You don’t get that kind rip roar on the 86's stock four-cylinder engine.

References

Toyota GT86

Read our full review on the 2013 Toyota GT86.

BMW M5

Read our full review on the 2006 BMW M5.