Motorsport: Silence on Toyota's workshop mystery

It looks like it's going to be a racing-model Toyota 86, but no one's saying. Photo / Supplied

This mystery image arrived in our email inbox this week, and it looks suspiciously like a new Toyota 86 undergoing some serious modifications.

By the look of the roll cage - which would not be road legal unless it was intended for some track or forest duties - the car is being prepared to race.

A Targa model has been rumoured recently but this looks a bit more serious.

Driven tried to contact Toyota's John Fowke, who is also responsible for much of the Toyota Racing Series, for a comment on what is happening.

We were told: "He's out of the country at the moment and unavailable for comment".

We next called Bob McMurray, who has had a long association with the TRS championship and is a former McLaren F1 team member, for his thoughts.

He said, "That's news to me ... [But] the 86 would make a nice little race car."

The consensus appears to be that, in the words of Francis Urquhart of The House of Cards, "You may very well think that, but I couldn't possible comment."

Watch this space, Driven will continue digging.