Toyota FT-86 G Sports Concept at the Tokyo Salon

Toyota is showing a whole range of “G Sports” kitted up cars at the Tokyo Auto Salon (which is kinda like a Japanese SEMA) but I say by far the most interesting car there is probably this – a FT-86 Concept that’s been done up quite well.

Other than this FT-86, a number of other cars have had the G Sports treatment given to them, such as the Noah, the Voxy, the Mark X, and the Prius. Toyota’s GAZOO Racing arm has its own set of cars to showcase including a Lexus LF-A. Lexus will be showing an IS F Circuit Club Sports Concept. TRD will have a Corolla Axio “GT” TRD Turbo.

And why “G Sports”? Apparently Toyota says the letter G heralds back to the days of cars like the 2000GT and the Celica GT-Four. You know what I think? The letter G comes after F, so Toyota G Sports comes after Lexus F-Sports G-nius!

Another bonus will be a trailer released by Gran Turismo 5 that showcases the FT-86 complete with G Sports kit doing its stuff in the virtual world.

Trailer gran turismo 5 FT-86 g sports concept
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Source;
http://paultan.org/2010/01/16/toyota-ft-86-g-sports-concept-at-the-tokyo-salon/

Road&Track dreamin’ of 2012 Toyota-Subaru sports coupe

This is not much of a news story than it is a drool job.

Road&Track: We’ve reported on this before, but we now have stronger evidence than ever that Toyota is getting back into the affordable sports-coupe game with an all-new model priced at around $20,000–$25,000. This front-engine/rear-drive 2-door will reincarnate the spirit of the 1983–1987 Corolla Levin/Trueno (AE86), a car that’s still popular today, especially among drift enthusiasts. According to our friends at Best Car magazine, Toyota’s code name for this future sports car is 086A. That it’s so similar to AE86 is no coincidence.

Toyota is partnering with Subaru to bring this project to reality. In fact, most of the engineering seems to be coming from the company known for its all-wheel-drive rally cars. Powering the future coupe will be Subaru’s 2.0-liter flat-4 equipped with a new direct-injection system, tuned to produce an impressive 200 bhp and 145 lb.-ft. of torque. We predict the car will weigh about 2700 lb., so expect fairly quick acceleration times, probably around 6.0 sec. to 60 mph. The suspension will consist of MacPherson struts up front and a multilink setup at the rear, with the chassis based on that of the Subaru Impreza and Legacy.

Toyota will mainly be in charge of the car’s styling. Although both Toyota and Subaru versions will be offered, the two models won’t look much different, apart from badging — think Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe.

The car is scheduled to appear sometime in 2011 or 2012. If this future car truly is a reincarnation of the AE86, Toyota and Subaru will have a big hit on their hands.

Source;
http://japancarblog.com/2012-toyota-subaru-sports-coup/

On Again?!? More details of the upcoming Toyota/Subaru 086A

There have been talks about a Subaru and Toyota’s 086A pet project and to follow-up, fresh information of the Toyubaru have come out. Although it was reported initially, now it is confirmed that the 086A chassis will be slightly revised with a shorter wheelbase, and will employ the new front strut suspension and multilink setup of the new Legacy.

It seems that development codes for the Japanese version have been finalized, bearing the 086A designation. Development codes for Europe and North America are still subject to change. The base powerplant has been established as a revised 2.0-liter EJ20 unit with direct injection fuel system that can produce 198hp at 7200 rpm and 148lb-ft torque. A disguised test car is set to hit the Nurburgring at the later part of April 2009. At this point in time, it looks like all developments are coming from the Subaru camp, but with the confirmed 086A code, it is not farfetched to expect Toyota to pull some tricks from its sleeves.

Source;
http://www.4wheelsnews.com/more-details-of-the-upcoming-toyota-subaru-086a/

For even more info;
http://www.7tune.com/086a-to-use-new-legacy-base/