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Whoah—Check Out Germany’s Limited ‘Tiger’ Toyota GT86

With Scion all but wiped from the face of the Earth and the FR-S now back in the North American Toyota lineup as the 86, the Japanese automaker seems more committed than ever to renew the car’s image as the entry-level sports car all enthusiasts (on a budget) should strive to own—or at least drive.

Clearly that is the motivation behind Toyota’s decision to limit the 86’s production to 8,600 models, as well as behind the car’s probably-too-edgy new ad campaign and its new 860 Special Edition trim, which will also be available in limited quantity. But while the latter goes into production in North America later this month, another and far better-named special edition model has beaten it to the punch in another part of the world.

Toyota Germany has just launched a new limited edition version of the 86 (known there as the GT86) called the “Tiger,” which comes with exclusive styling enhancements that aim to make the car live up to that nickname.

Most notable are the aggressive velvet black accents around the fender’s air vents and doors—complete with matching black rear spoiler and side mirrors—as well as the special “Tiger Orange” finish. The 17-inch anthracite-painted alloy wheels are also eye-catching.

Inside, the 2017 Toyota GT86 Tiger gets leather Alcantara seats with contrast orange stitching and suede leather inserts on the dashboard and door cards, in addition to a brushed-aluminum “GT86 Tiger” badge.

Nothing is new where performance is concerned other than that the car comes equipped with SACHS sports dampers, which are already available on the regular model as an option.

The car is quite good looking, but given that the GT86 Tiger starts at €34,990, or about $37,470, we think we’d rather have the inferiorly-named Toyota 86 860 Special Edition, which is at least just as attractive and significantly more affordable.