Toyota and Subaru plan to formally unveil their versions of the jointly developed "Toyobaru"in December at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show. While Toyota will market its version of the new boxer-engined, rear-drive sports coupe in North America next year as the Scion FR-S, the Subaru 2.0-liter coupe is slated to begin production in spring 2012, with U.S. sales to begin soon after.
The car's production launch comes nearly four years after the program was announced in April 2008. Since then, several prototypes have been displayed at international auto shows, with the FR-Sunveiled last month at the 2011 New York Auto Show, following the March introduction of its sibling, theToyota FT-86 II, at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show. Also in Geneva, Subaru showed a transparent conceptdetailing the car's boxer engine, rear-drive architecture and suspension.
Although Subaru has made all-wheel drive an integral part of its brand DNA, the sports car is built on a unique rear-wheel-drive platform, and Japanese sources familiar with the program say there are no plans for an AWD version, as per Subaru's iconic Impreza WRX STI. Nor is a turbocharged version of Subaru's latest high-revving 2.0-liter four-cylinder flat-4 envisioned, since the whole concept of the coupe is decidedly Old School.
The Toyobaru aspires to be a 2012 reboot of the original born-to-drift AE86 Corolla. Under the joint development program, Toyota is handling product planning and design, while Subaru is in charge of development and production. There will effectively be one model for both companies, with yet-to-be-defined styling differences to set them apart.
Beyond the coupe, there has been considerable speculation that further developments are planned — a convertible, for instance, though sources in Japan also talk of a compact sedan to target the BMW 1 Series.
The motivating force behind this compact rear-drive sports-car program (as well as the Lexus LFA) is Toyota boss Akio Toyoda, an unashamed auto enthusiast who loves high-speed driving. Along with other Toyota engineers, he has wanted to do a new AE86 Corolla for years.
Subaru, in turn, is immensely proud of its latest-generation boxer engine, and the program at last gives it the chance to do a meaningful collaboration, after previous ill-advised attempts with General Motors, notably the Impreza-based Saab 9-2X (derided by critics as the "Saabaru") and the stillborn Tribeca-based 9-6X, fell flat.-insideline.com/
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