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Mr Kleen wrote:I'm generally a fan of Honda engineering (I've owned 2 CRXs and a Civic Si) but the CR-Z sucks! I just knew Toyota wouldn't make a sporty car again.Additionally, ToMoCo is reportedly gauging the success of the Honda CR-Z, which could influence the final drivetrain specs of the FT-86.
hell, we may well be seeing the first stages of the end of a golden age...
Good news FT-86 fans. I was invited as one of the only foreign journalists to attend a press day on Wednesday where the JDM only Noah and Voxy Minivans were being showcased by G’s, the sports vehicle oriented arm of Toyota Japan. The FT-86 though, didn’t take long to come up in the conversation…Most importantly, Toyota held the strictly invite only event not only to show off the G’s upgrades to their people movers but also to offer access to some of Toyota’s innermost engineers and sports department managers.
This presented an ideal opportunity to discuss Toyota’s involvement in the current market and inevitably, questions regarding the FT86 surfaced quickly.
A private 20 minute question and answer session I had with Dr. Shigeyuki Hori, Project General Manager for the Sports Vehicle Management division and Kazuo Okino, Group manager for the same division uncovered a number of promising pieces of news.
I can confirm that the cars development is on schedule and that the reports for the cars release in 2013 are erroneous. Toyota reiterated its intent to release the car by the previously appointed date, in November 2011. I can also confirm that the car is approximately 50% complete with the target price remaining steady for the mid level spec FT-86 at approximately 2.5 million yen ( approx. $29,000 USD ). One can only speculate at the moment what the base grade spec and price will be and no mention was made of the price for the top spec model but one can be led to guess this will involve a turbocharged motor.
While on the subject of turbocharging, Hori san and Okino san both confirmed that discussions were still being held and nothing had been decided yet. Both were hesitant to provide any confirmation on the radical Gazoo Racing model that wowed the world at last years Tokyo Auto Salon. It needs to be remembered that G’s is ostensibly a street car oriented arm of Toyota and as such the cars will be basically stock power wise with most of the modifications coming in the way of aesthetic changes and suspension, chassis and brake upgrades.
How many new NSX mules were spotted? When did the new NSX come out?Sabre wrote:That hump gives me hope!!!!!!
Subaru’s latest test mule for its co-developed coupé with Toyota has been spied testing for the first time in Europe.
The model, running a cut-and-shut Impreza body covering the modified Legacy platform with Impreza rear suspension, has previously been spied testing in Death Valley.
See the latest spy pics of Subaru's new coupé
The bulge in its bonnet gives its identity as the hotter STI model away; the new Subaru will be turbocharged and have more power than its Toyota FT-86 sibling. A front-mounted intercooler has also been visible through an opening in the front grille in previous spy pics.
Subaru sources in Japan have previously told Autocar that the unnamed coupé will use a 260bhp version of the Impreza WRX STI’s turbocharged 2.5-litre flat four.
Read more on Subaru's coupé, plus see an exclusive rendering
This will give it more power than its co-developed Toyota FT-86 sibling, which will use Subaru’s naturally aspirated 2.0-litre flat four with around 200bhp. Both cars will use a six-speed manual gearbox.
The decision to use Impreza bodywork also hints that the coupé could draw some of its styling inspiration from the hatchback, in particular at the front end.
Subaru intends to make its coupé the more aggressive of the pair; both will share similar body panels, but each will get its own bumpers, front grilles and wheels.
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/14/suba ... or-geneva/The "Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept" a.k.a. the Subieyota a.k.a. the Toyobaru a.k.a FT-86 (speculatively sketched here) will be unveiled with a "horizontally-opposed Subaru boxer engine" in early March at the Geneva Auto Show.
While Toyota has been happy to supply the world with glimpses of and whispers about its version of the FT-86 sports coupe, Subaru has been suspiciously quiet about its planned version of the car. But it looks like that's about to change. The Pleiades has announced the vehicles that it plans to show off at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March, and tucked amongst the already-revealed Impreza Concept and the new Trezia econobox is word that the Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept will also make an appearance. The news answers the question of whether or not the Subaru end of the venture would boast the company's trademark all-wheel drive when it debuts. All signs point to no – at least in concept form.
Other than the fact that the RWD Subaru will bow in Geneva, there's no indication as to what the car will look like or whether or not it will ever show up in American showrooms. We do know that the vehicle will boast a Subaru boxer four-cylinder under its hood, though it's unclear whether the engine will be a next-generation interpretation of the engine it currently markets or if Subaru will stick the old turbo lump out front. We'll probably find out soon enough.
<Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept>
A Subaru rear-wheel drive sports car is currently under joint development as part of the business alliance with Toyota Motor Corporation. Based on an all-new platform, the vehicle will offer Subaru’s distinctive trademark and core technology: the “Horizontally-Opposed Subaru Boxer engine”. The concept embodies Subaru’s established know-how in manufacturing boxer-powered passenger cars; it shows how Subaru proposes to integrate this expertise into a rear-wheel drive car to offer a new and highly enjoyable, Subaru-like driving experience. The technology concept will demonstrate how the all-new car platform makes full use of Subaru’s engineering and Boxer technology.
Autoblog wrote:Subaru has already announced that it plans to debut its version of the rear-wheel-drive FT-86 concept at next month's Geneva Motor Show. It's safe to say that the joint venture between Toyota and Subaru is one of the most highly anticipated debuts of the year, and while the vehicle that takes the stage in Switzerland will still be designated as a concept, it should give us a very good glimpse as to what's in store for the production car.
Our trusty spy photographers have caught Subaru's version of the sports car out testing, and while we've been quick to label the Toyobaru as a coupe, this latest set of photos suggests a hatchback configuration. There's still a small deck out back, though, so perhaps the term 'fastback' is more appropriately used in an instance like this (sort of like the Scion tC). Either way, the bodywork looks similar to evaluation mules we've seen periodically over the last couple of years, but it isn't known for certain if the bodywork shrouded in camouflage is production.
In any case, you can expect to see a 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four under the hood, producing something like 260 horsepower. Subaru will break its all-wheel-drive-only mantra with this new car, as the automaker has confirmed that power will run solely to the rear wheels. See the latest set of spy shots for yourself in our high-res image gallery below.
But we shall see next month...