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Star-owned GT86 surprises 16-year-old
The surprises kept coming for 16-year-old Sophia when her father helped to buy her first car - a 2013 GT86.
Sophia, a ‘real petrol head’, was told by her father Michael Frawley that he would help her buy a sports car if she got her driver’s licence.
Sophia had her heart set on a Toyota GT86 as she wanted something fun, but not scary to drive, and that handled well.
Unfortunately, searches for an 86 were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they did manage to find a low mileage 2013 GT86 at Manawatu Toyota with the factory sport kit.
After talking with the helpful team at Manawatu Toyota, Sophia’s father purchased the car sight unseen but decided not to tell Sophia. Sophia was disappointed to discover that the car had disappeared off TradeMe.
Imagine her surprise when it arrived unannounced a week later. However, the surprise didn’t stop there, when Sophia was cleaning her car, she discovered Dave Dobbyn’s signature on the vanity mirror.
A quick email to Dave’s agent confirmed that he was in fact the first owner of the car. That was then followed up by an email to Sophia from Dave Dobbyn himself, saying how delighted he was that the car had ended up with her and he hoped that it gave her the same level of enjoyment as he had got from it.
He also encouraged her to attend one of Toyota Festival events so that she could experience what the car was capable of in a safe and controlled environment.
“Now,” her father says, “all she needs is a part time job to pay for the petrol”.