Toyota 86 Gets PlayStation-Based Telemetry System in Japan

We've seen a variety of these onboard systems at work – with the Performance Data Recorder on the Corvette Stingray emerging as one of the latest and most advanced – but Toyota is taking things a step further with its new Sport Drive Logger.

The system is being rolled out (at least initially) on the Japanese Domestic Market Toyota 86, a coupe European customers might more readily recognize as the GT86 and what we would call the Scion FR-S (itself a kissing cousin to the Subaru BRZ). Despite its name, the Sports Drive Logger doesn't have anything to do with competitive lumberjacking, instead, it's an integrated telemetry system that, as promised, syncs up with Gran Turismo 6 on the PS3. Developed in partnership with Sony, the system logs all manner of data – including satellite positioning, pedal depression, steering angle, gear selection, engine revs and vehicle speed – onto a USB stick for transfer to your PlayStation.

Once loaded into the video game system, the data recreates a virtual representation of your track run and displays it – along with all the raw data – as if you had lapped the circuit in the game. Drivers will even be able to compare their laps against their friends' through the system, which initially offers support for Fuji, Tsubuka and Suzuka, "with additional circuits planned for the future." We're still waiting for confirmation on if and when the system will be available in the US (with support for some of our favorite Stateside circuits), but in the meantime, you can scope out the details in the press release along with the video footage below for a closer look.