New Toyota AE86 -now called FT-86 debuts
Big pic here
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October 6, 2009 - 12:30 am ET
TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. goes sporty at this months' Tokyo Motor Show, unveiling its vision for a sport coupe being jointly developed with Subaru.
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The Toyota-badged car, dubbed the FT-86 Concept, is the spiritual successor to the AE86 sport coupe of the 1980s, which was based on the Corolla. Like its boxy predecessor, the FT-86 Concept is compact, lightweight and has a low center of gravity.
But the styling is modernized with a rounded, sleek silhouette.
The FT-86 is Toyota's concept for a sporty coupe being undertaken with Fuji Heavy Industries Inc., the company that manufactures Subaru vehicles. While it is fitted with a 2.0-liter boxer engine from Subaru, the overall design was created by Toyota's ED2 styling studio in France. Even the blue-red metallic paint was specially developed by Toyota.
“Sports cars have to be red, but we wanted a new red,” said chief engineer Tetsuya Tada. “So we came up with shoujyouhi red, the traditional red color of a Japanese monkey's [backside].”
Toyota and Fuji Heavy plan to start producing a sporty car in late 2011.
Toyota will be responsible for most of the engineering. Fuji Heavy will supply the horizontally opposed engine and manufacture the car at a Subaru plant.
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The FT-86 seats four and has a front-engine, rear-drive layout. The boxer engine allows for a lower hood and gives the car a lower center of gravity.
Fuji Heavy won't comment on whether the FT-86 Concept is that car or not; Subaru won't be displaying a sports car at the Oct. 24-Nov. 4 Tokyo Motor Show. But the car clearly underscores new President Akio Toyoda's push for more muscular, fun-to-drive models.
Tada said Toyota wants the FT-86's sticker price to be in the $20,000 range. “It won't sell if it's over 3 million yen ($30,000),” he said. “The price has to appeal to regular customers.”
The car seats four and has a front-engine, rear-drive layout. The boxer engine allows for a lower hood and gives the FT-86 a lower center of gravity. Key to the design was maximizing fuel efficiency by reducing weight and creating a compact design, Tada said.
Tada also said it gets a dedicated chassis, noting that “enthusiasts don't want a shared platform.”
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Originally Posted by dtmcnamara
