Journalists all over are buzzing about the announced "low-cost sports car" being hatched by Subaru and Toyota. Each brand will sell its own version with specific styling on a shared rear-wheel-drive platform with a Subaru-sourced horizontally opposed 4-cylinder engine. Subaru has already confirmed U.S. sale for its entry, name to be determined. In an interview with Digg.com conducted in February 2010, Toyota USA President and CEO Jim Lentz confirmed the company's plans to produce an "affordable" sports car for the U.S. market. Lentz cited the Toyota FT-86 Concept shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show as "a joint-venture product between Subaru and Toyota...(that) will be coming to market." Both models are rumored to come in at under $20,000 and likely closer to $17,000 if the dollar/yen exchange rate doesn't go completely haywire.
The project was announced at a Tokyo press conference in April 2008. Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe provided only broad-brush outlines, but pointedly noted, "We haven't had a sports car for a long time. This is a long-awaited-for model." That's no doubt code for the general rap that Toyota hasn't made "interesting" cars since it dropped the Celica and the mid-engine MR2 Spyder convertible back in 2005. The criticism evidently stung, as Toyota reportedly set up a study group to generate ideas for upping the brand's cool factor with the all-important youth market. That's one reason for this new compact sport coupe, which aims to deliver slick looks, tight handling, and great mpg, all at a budget-friendly price.
A second motivation for Toyota is furthering ties with Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries. Toyota was quick to replace General Motors as a Fuji "alliance partner" back in 2005, taking an 8.7 percent stake soon after the American company bailed. With that, Subaru began building midsize Toyota Camry sedans at its under-utilized plant in Lafayette, Indiana, a mutually successful endeavor that reportedly led to the joint-venture sports car. Toyota now plans to up its stake in Fuji to 16.5 percent (for a reported $311 million)--partly, some analysts believe, for access to Subaru's signature expertise in horizontally opposed engines and all-wheel drive. In exchange, Subaru is getting rebadged versions of Toyota "K-class" minicars for a lucrative segment in the Japanese market where the smaller automaker has been a weak player.
So much for background. As for the car itself, the 2012 Toyota Celica--and its Subaru sister--is rumored to be a sloped-roof hatchback with a slightly larger footprint than the late front-drive Acura RSX coupe (known elsewhere as the Honda Integra). Our dimensions reflect numbers reported on Toyota's Japan media site. If the FT-86 Concept is to be believed, the new Toybaru--or Subayota--will be a four-passenger package with a cozy rear seat and adult-size room in front.
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