New Concept Car: Toyota FT-86

Packed with enough emotional content to satisfy fans of the departed Supra, MR-2 and Celica, the Toyota FT-86 Concept is set to make its world debut at the company's 2009 Tokyo auto show stand on October 21. It's got eye-catching looks, a 2+2 layout, rear-wheel-drive, a horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine, and a six-speed manual transmission. And a production version is due by late 2011.

This unlikely coupe, borne out of the on-again, off-again, on-again relationship between Toyota and Subaru, nearly got axed twice. In April, 2008, former Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe first announced the joint development project with Subaru in which both companies would build a sports car based on the same platform. Since that date, the economic downturn led to two cooling off periods in which the destiny of the project hung in the balance. But enough momentum remained to push it into the 'can do' basket, and the fact that the Toyota-Subaru design team already had a significant springboard in the form of a Subaru platform and engine helped build the case to keep it alive.

Drawing definite design hints from the FT-HS hybrid sports concept seen at the 2007 Detroit show, the sharp, edgy exterior injects more than a little emotion into the Toyota product mix, something the company's lineup has been crying out for since the MR-S (MR-2) coupe disappeared two years ago.

A source close to Toyota tells us that while the FT-86's exterior design is sourced from Toyota Europe Design in France, two other prototypes also exist, one penned by head office in Toyota City and the other created by Calty Design Research in California. "Build quality is very high, and it may already look ready for the road, but don't be surprised if the exterior changes, because this car is not finished, not by a long way," our source says.

The name FT-86, which won't be the car's final name, harks back to the immensely popular Corolla AE-86 rear-drive coupe of the 80s, a car in which the famous Drift King -- Japanese racing legend Keiichi Tsuchiya -- started his career, while FT stands for 'Future Toyota.' And you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see the FT-86's potential to ignite a whole new generation of drifters.

In a speech to media in Tokyo on October 1, new Toyota CEO and Nurburgring 24-hour race driver Akio Toyoda enthusiastically explained that the company plans to put greater effort from now on into building 'more emotional cars' and that the FT-86, and Lexus LFA on a more extreme scale, are just the first in a long line. In justifying his racing efforts at the world's most grueling race track, Toyoda said "It is important for management like me to drive our cars not only on public roads, but also in competition to fully understand where our engineers are coming from." He went on to say that he is not racing for the sake of racing, but rather testing cars like the LFA and IS F on road surfaces in competitive environments that push a car's chassis and suspension to the limits.

Thanks to: Motor Trend