The skid-tastic sports coupe that kicked off Toyota’s drive back into being a fun brand has gone from NZ – and there’s a question mark over when its replacement will show.

Toyota used the last 86 to celebrate Chris Amon. It’s the rarest of all the editions sold here.

“86 models are no longer available to purchase new.”

As farewells go, the single line announcement on Toyota New Zealand’s new car web page might seem to some enthusiasts to be … well, pretty cold.

Yet it’s all the country’s biggest brand has said in respect to the passing of a great. They’ve been even quieter when it comes to providing clarity in respect to obvious questions.

Like: Will TNZ be keen to take the replacement, presumably now ‘GR86’ – to bring it into the Gazoo Racing fold, alongside the GR Supra and Yaris - model and, if so, when might we expect to see it?

Equally relevant: What’s the future for TR86, the national racing class the distributor created, fosters and funds? Will the current cars race on for another summer or is the series under review?

The TR86 racing series has been a brilliant promotion for the brand and has become an important stepping stone category. Does it have a future?

Exactly when TNZ’s customer stock ran dry is not clear. What is known is that production of the fun-on-a-stick two door which it launched here in August of 2012 with great fanfare finally curtailed in Japan last month.

A heads up about the end being near first aired last August, when Subaru – which builds the 86 and its own BRZ (which didn’t last long in NZ) in its Gunma plant in Japan - told some markets that it was wrapping up build of its own car.

Of course, that news was preceded almost two years ago by announcement from both players that a second-generation car, very much true to the original styling and still with a flat four engine and still rear-drive, had been signed off.

Last November Subaru revealed its new BRZ, with a 170kW/2540Nm 2.4-litre engine replacing the original’s 2.0-litre. Subaru NZ promptly confirmed it will not be sold here – their marketing plan is all about all-wheel-drive, which the coupe does not have.

Now, more twists. From Japan, via America and Australia, conflicting reports.

One is that Toyota is apparently holding back its second-generation 86 in order to make it better. The other, potentially more accurate, suggests it will bring the car’s launch forward, with more announced on April 5.

The second-generation BRZ is out … bu won’t be sold new here. Toyota’s boss has reportedly held back the 86 version so his engineers can make it less like the Subaru. Can it be done?

The first story is from American website Jalopnik, relying on a translation of a story that appears on a Japanese website called Best Car, known for breaking big stories. It says Toyota boss Akio Toyoda is displeased a car again developed with Subaru once again feels like … a Subaru. Go figure, right?

Anyway, he’s apparently told his development team: “Aim to differentiate performance from the BRZ.”

Differentiating the car from its badge-swapped sibling might be a big challenge and there’s been surprise that Toyoda wants it.

After all the similarities between the old BRZ and 86 never seemed to be much of an issue for Toyota before. Nor has the Supra’s and BMW Z4’s shared development and production.

The original 86 sat on top of a modified Impreza platform and used many Subaru chassis parts. It wasn’t quite Subaru in terms of engine design, however, as while the basics of the 152kW/212Nm 2.0-litre engine were Subaru boxer, it stands as the sole Fuji powerplant with Toyota's variable valve technology.

Jalopnik writer Adam Ismail offered this thought:

“It’s theorised that Toyota could accomplish this (differentiation) by messing with the car’s gearing and engine tuning. However, given that the car is essentially complete, the engineers are reportedly struggling to pull off the feat in the 11th hour. It may also push the car’s release into next year.”

Believe all that? There’s an alternate from Australia’s CarAdvice.com, citing the two brands having confirmed plans for the joint announcement, and providing a link to that page. It works. And that’s what it appears to say. Teasing the upcoming event, an image on the page appears to show the badges of both a Toyota GR 86 and a Subaru BRZ, with the words "Let's make ever-better cars together!"

CarAdvice also cites a statement from Toyota Japan, citing that Gazoo Racing president Koji Sato will take part in this upcoming. It believes that all but confirms earlier reports the new-generation 86 will join the GR family.

The outgoing car’s outputs have always been subject of intense enthusiast interest. Just right? Not enough?

It's fair to say that this has never been a car overly endowed with grunt; Toyota, in fairness, has always said it wanted the chassis to do the talking. As it always did: The reason why the 86 is such a great is that it is one sweet-handling, nimble car.

The 86 came here in a diversity of forms, from an entry $33,986 RC that was aimed at budget-constrained kids bu basically became the basis of the TR86 race car to an extravagant Toyota Racing Development flagship, which was an up-to $70k buy-in and outfitted with Brembo brakes, firmer suspension, bigger forged alloys and a rortier exhaust that added another extra 5kW power.

For all that, the mid-range that sold for under $50k always comfortably trended as the most popular choice with private buyers.

The TRD was the most overt version but, even though it only offered in a run of 20 examples, was not the rarest – or, arguably, the one that deserved most celebration.

That latter honour, in this writer’s view, befalls the Chris Amon GT86, issued in late 2018, two years on from his death and also in the lead-up to celebration of the 50th anniversary of his first New Zealand Grand Prix victory.

The ‘Chris Amon Edition’ delivered in just 10 cars, each for $55,990, all in distinctive orange, called solar flare, that was purely for this run.

Amon enjoyed 16 seasons at the highest level of international motorsport but spent twice as long working for Toyota NZ.

He put in more than 30 years’ involvement as a vehicle development and motorsport consultant to the Palmerston North-based brand, much of that work conducted at the Manfeild racing circuit – which, shortly after his death, was renamed Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon.