07.10.2009
The AE-86 Corolla of the 1980′s is a well revered icon of the D1 Drift series, and now Toyota is aiming to recapture the spirit of Hachi-Roku (Japanese for eight-six) with their new FT-86 Concept.
Due to break cover for the first time at the Tokyo motor show later this month, the FT-86 is a compact rear-wheel drive coupe less than 4.2 metres (4,160 mm) in length.
Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre boxer engine from Subaru producing over 200bhp and sending it’s power to the rear wheels via a 6-speed gearbox. The FT-86 will go on sale in late 2011 with rumours of a Subaru version following shortly after with its own styling.
The FT-86 will fill a void in Toyota’s model range following the demise of the MR2 and Celica, and the lack of a truly sporting model to reflect their Formula 1 activities.
It might seem odd for Toyota to be fitting a Subaru engine into one of its cars, however Toyota owns a 16.5% stake in Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries and its compact 2.0-litre boxer engine should contribute well to the FT-86′s low centre of gravity.
About Steve Davies
Steve is a media, venture, and technology advisor and a former Partner at KPMG Consulting, PriceWaterhouse Coopers and Managing Partner at EIM - his clients range from global web and media companies to small start-ups. He formed Drivers Republic (DR) in 2007, the UK's first digital automotive magazine, with a team of EVO and Autocar writers before creating SkiddMark, and also writes as a guest contributor on Unruly Media’s Meme Machine blog and for Econsultancy’s digital marketing blog.
Subscribe to Steve's podcasts.Tell us what you think..
When you post a comment, it will also appear in your News Feed on Facebook (if you so choose), enabling you to take the conversation to where your friends already are. Thereafter you can continue discussing on Facebook and the conversations between SkiddMark and Facebook will be auto-magically synched, regardless of where the comment was made.
7 Comments
Jonny Jones
October 7, 2009That is stunning! I would quite happily get into serious debt if they released the car with all of those design attributes! Truly amazing!
Jonny Jones
October 7, 2009That is stunning! I would quite happily get into serious debt if they released the car with all of those design attributes! Truly amazing!
Archie Davies
October 8, 2009aaaaaaaaaaa toyota finally!!!!!! why such a wait?!
Archie Davies
October 8, 2009aaaaaaaaaaa toyota finally!!!!!! why such a wait?!
Cameron Davies
October 12, 2009wow!, think I should start saving now! Been waiting for this for a long time.
Cameron Davies
October 12, 2009wow!, think I should start saving now! Been waiting for this for a long time.
700R4 Transmission
November 14, 2010I wanna find more info about this, anybody could?