February 18, 2009 by Justin Karow
http://www.7tune.com/toyotasubaru-co...car-code-086a/The next President of Toyota Motor Co. Akio Toyoda gives us a little more insight into the Toyota/Subaru compact FR sports car.
In a press interview at the Tokyo Auto Salon last month, the next President of Toyota Motor Co. Akio Toyoda was asked many questions about where Toyota was heading and also one question which might be of particular interest to Japanese sports car enthusiasts, “How’s the development coming along regarding the sports car jointly developed with Subaru?” This question was answered in 3 parts:
Project Moving Ahead
Despite some reports to the contrary, the Toyota/Subaru compact FR sports car was not cancelled (even partially) and will continue to go ahead. It is seen as a vital part of Toyota’s “rejuvenation” efforts and reflects the company’s desire to develop a car that appeals to the younger generation of car enthusiasts. Having a FR sports car at the entry level end of the market is Toyota’s way of cementing its image as an rejuvenated car company and will surely dominate the segment as its competitors struggle to keep up.
Codename: “086A”, Delayed Production
Development of the body and chassis is complete and we’re told the development code for the new FR sports car is “086A”. The numerals “86″ should make fans of the now legendary AE86 Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin happy as it’s rumored that the numbers will be carried over as the chassis designation. It was thought that the freeze put on construction of the new Subaru factory slated to produce the Toyota/Subaru sports car was the main reason for delays in production, but this is actually in no way related and the real reason for the delay is that production will postponed for several months so that D-4S direct injection could be applied to the flat-4 boxer engine. Production will be postponed until March 2012.
Price Unchanged
Akio Toyoda also confirmed that the price of the Toyota/Subaru compact sports car is still 2,000,000 yen and that there will be no changes to the original plan to build an affordable entry-level sports car. The car is seen to be a formidable model when it joins Toyota’s line up as it will surely push the boundaries of a market segment occupied by front wheel drive compact cars.
Words: Justin Karow
ANDby Damon Lavrinc on Feb 18th 2009 at 2:27PM
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/18/t...nclude-direct/Over the past few months, rumors have circulated that the joint venture between Toyota and Subaru to develop an affordable, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive coupe has been delayed. ToMoCo president, Akio Toyoda, sought to address those concerns at last month's Tokyo Auto Salon, and according to Toyota's new overlord, development is still underway.
Toyoda told the assembled masses that the new FR sports car is an essential part of the automaker's "rejuvenation" efforts to bring younger people into the fold, and a large part of that is price. The coupe is still expected to cost around 2,000,000 yen (a little over $21,000 US) and is set to go on sale in 2012. According to Toyoda, the production postponement has nothing to do with the delay in construction of the Toyota/Subaru factory, where the two-door was due to be built next year. Instead, Toyoda claims that the hold up is due to the adaption of Toyota's new D-4S direct injection system for the flat-four engine. Currently, the FR sports car is codenamed "086A," and for those of you schooled in the world of Hachirokus, that spells good things to come.
