Subaru is reportedly looking to scrap plans for an AWD version of the Toyota FT-86 in favor of a rear-drive only model. This is sure to have the marketing department at Subaru up in arms with the accountants, as Subaru’s whole brand identity is based on the company’s Symmetrical AWD setup.

Japan’s Best Car is reporting that the cost of making the Toyobaru AWD has become prohibitive as so only a rear-drive model is now planned. So with Toyota already scheduled to bring a rear-drive FT-86 to market, the only difference between the two models is likely to be slightly different bodywork and interior design.

Based on a modified AWD Legacy platform we still find this news hard to believe and as much as we’d love a more entry-level Toyota model, a high-powered Subaru would be plenty of fun and most likely worth the added cost.

See more Toyota and Subaru FT-86 news at FT86Talk.com

[Source: Best Car via 7Tune]

The Subaru version of the FT-86 will be larger, heavier and more powerful than its Toyota cousin. According to a recent report in Japan’s Best Car magazine (and brought to us by the team at 7Tune), the Subaru-branded Toyobaru will receive the 216A chassis code, rather than the 086A badge that the Toyota will get. (In North America, the FT-86 will go by the 087A chassis code, while European models will get the 088A code).

Being a Subaru, the 216A will get symmetrical all-wheel drive, which will add roughly 220-lbs. The car will also be slightly larger with a 20mm increase in both height and width, while the wheelbase will gain anywhere from 30m to 50mm.

The best part, however, is confirmation that the car will be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged motor. Most likely this means the 250ps (247-hp) version found in the Impreza, with the 308-ps (303-hp) WRX STI motor left for a high-performance version in the future.

Neither of those powerplants are, however, offered in North America. This could mean that, much like the WRX, the 216A will get the 2.5-liter turbo motor, with either 224-hp or 265-hp.

As expected, all these additions will also come with a price hike over the standard model.

GALLERY: Subaru 216A

[Source: BestCar via 7Tune]

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Some video of the Toyobaru spots car lapping the Nürburgring in Germany has found its way on to YouTube. Considering the heavy use of camo used to cover the car up, there’s reason to believe this is the Subaru version of the small sports car, rather than the Toyota model. Toyota has already released numerous images of its car, called the FT-86 in concept form.

Either way, the car looks like a hoot to drive and should offer plenty of fun to a lot of people as the MSRP is expected to be in the low $20,000 range.

We expect to hear more about this car when Toyota officially unveils the FT-86 Concept at the Tokyo Auto Show this Wednesday, October 21st.

GALLERY: Toyota FT-86 Concept

Several sketches showing what Subaru’s new compact sports car might look like have been leaked by the folks at AutoCar. The car has become known by the name Toyobaru because of the joint partnership between Toyota and Subaru that lead to the its creation.

Earlier this week Toyota unveiled its version of the affordable sports car, dubbed the FT-86 Concept.

Subaru is believed to be building its own version of the car, powered by the same Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine as the Toyota model. While nothing has been confirmed it is widely believed that the Subaru version would (expectedly) be all-wheel drive, whereas the Toyota model is rear-drive only.

Toyota has high hopes for the Toyobaru and is marketing it as an affordable sports car, meaning that it is looking for high sales volumes. While Subaru has expanded its market share over the past few years, the company is still more of a niche market enthusiast brand, which raises the possibility that it may offer a more powerful turbocharged version of the car.

See the sketches here:

Subaru’s Toyobaru Design Sketches

GALLERY: Toyota FT-86 Concept

Get more FT-86 News Here

[Source: AutoCar]

Toyota’s new FT-86 Concept car hasn’t even received its official unveiling at the Tokyo Auto Show and yet its already made its video game debut. Toyota has released a short clip of the FT-86 in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 game. There are plenty of great clips of the stunning new Toyota, and even a nice under-hood shot of the Subaru-sourced boxer engine.

As expected there’s also some nice running footage of the FT-86 drifting alongside its inspirational predecessor, the AE-86.

Toyota hasn’t made any official announcement yet, but you can be sure this car is headed for production in the very near future.

GALLERY: Toyota FT-86 Concept

Get more FT-86 News Here

Until today, if someone asked you what the best looking Toyota from the past decade was, you’d have a tough time thinking something up. As of today, the answer is the FT-86 Concept, which is set to officially debut at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month.

The name FT-86 brings together Toyota’s past and future, with the “FT” coming from the FT-HS hybrid concept from a few years back, while the “86″ is donated from the AE-86, a small rear-drive, two-door Corolla-based sports car (called the Hachi-Roku), made famous by drifters.

Other than the design of the car (which is certainly impressive with plenty of Lexs LF-A inspired goodness), we don’t know a lot about the FT-86 concept yet.

What we do know is that it will be light weight, with “racecar-like handling” and be powered by a 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder engine. While Toyota hasn’t said as much, this is most likely donated from the boxer-engine experts at Subaru – meaning that the FT-86 is the mysterious Toyobaru.

Toyota hasn’t said as much, but you can be certain this concept car is headed for production in the very near future.

GALLERY: Toyota FT-86 Concept

Get more FT-86 News Here

Official release after the jump:

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has, for the first time, officially made clear that the automaker is in fact working on a joint project with Subaru to build an affordable sports car. Toyoda made the statements at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan

The new car will be stylish, yet fuel-efficient and affordable – a vehicle that customers (U.S. customers in particular) can get passionate about.

“You’re going to have to have passion in your products,” said Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, adding that obviously any Toyota would also be representative of the company’s focus on quality and value.

The project is an unconventional one for the Japanese automaker, but is part of a new direction that its new CEO, a self-proclaimed ‘car nut’, wants to take the company in. “I want to see Toyota build cars that are fun and exciting to drive,” he said, adding that the Toyobaru will be fast-tracked to market.

[Source: MSNBC]

According to its sources, 7Tune is reporting that Toyota is in fact preparing a successor to the Supra. This top-level sports car has taken a back seat to the economy-minded 086A – the code name for the yet unnamed joint Toyota/Subaru project. It’s also likely that development of a Supra-successor has been slowed due to the current economic conditions.

This upcoming sports car will be based on the FT-HS concept, which debuted back in 2007. Like the FT-HS is will be a hybrid, but a non-hybrid version will also be offered.

In hybrid trim the production FT-HS is likely to get the a similar powerplant to the one found in cars like the Lexus GS450h. Using the same 3.5-liter V6 and a more powerful electric motor, the new Supra should make closer to 400hp, rather than the 339 in the GS. Details of a non-hybrid powertrain are non-existent.

7Tune is reporting a concept car should debut at this year’s Tokyo Auto Show with a production version not expected until 2011.

[Source: 7Tune]

The Toyobaru, in case you haven’t heard, is a secret car that, as the name would suggest, is being built as a joint project by Toyota and Subaru. Code named the 086A, the possibility that the two Japanese automakers might actually build the thing sounds like a dream – and yet the rumors about it keep surfacing.

The latest new reports come from 7Tune, which sources a Toyota insider who apparently has seen the car in the flesh. And according to this insider, the car will have styling that is not unlike that of the top-level LF-A supercar from Lexus.

Original reports of the car put it as an all-wheel drive vehicle using Subaru’s turbocharged boxer engine, but the consensus has now turned to the Toyobaru being an entry level front-engine, rear-drive compact sports-coupe.

Toyota has long been absent from the entry-level sportscar arena and apparently wants to get back into the game. In a recent interview with Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport magazine, the company’s new boss, Akio Toyoda, said that for too long they have neglected this segment of the market.

The car will apparently be sold as both a Toyota and a Subaru, similar to the way both GM and Toyota worked together to develop the Vibe/Martix. As for pricing, the 7Tune insider says Toyota is trying to keep the cost closer to 2 million Yen ($20,000). The price should give a clear indication of the amount of horsepower to expect and the latest speculation is that it will be just under 200hp thanks to a direct-injection four-cylinder.

With the unfavorable exchange rate between the Yen and the dollar, however, the car may never make it to U.S. shores.

[Sources: 7Tune & Autoblog]