Edmunds Inside Line reported in May that, “Surprisingly, the joint Toyota-Subaru R&D team has chosen the out-of-production, front-wheel-drive Honda Integra Type R as its benchmark, because its styling, performance parameters and dimensions mirror what the development team wants to create.”

Back when this first was announced I said, “This is good news. No, this is GREAT news.” Why?

Because the Integra Type-R “(is) a car as sweet and all-consuming as any I’ve experienced at any price, and as pure and focused in its own way as any Porsche RS. Forget the accolade of greatest front-wheel-drive car. The Integra Type-R ranks as one of the truly great drivers’ cars of any kind.” – Evo Magazine

Taken from the September 2006 issue:

Full text:

Remarks on the Integra Type R from the initial round, before determining 6 finalists:

“There has never been a more focused, less compromised front-drive coupe than the Integra. From the moment you drop into its low-slung, huggy seat, clock the 8000rpm redline and give the titanium-topped gearlevel an exploratory waggle, you know that this could be a very special car. It doesn’t disappoint.

‘Unbelievable,’ blurts Bovingdon. ‘Superb engine, gearbox and brakes, and a simply awesome chassis.’ Oh yes. Immediately obvious is the quality of the steering: its smoothness, its meatiness, its keenness. This Honda exudes quality and precision, and the limited slip diff subtly enhances the traction of its relatively slim tyres. ‘The more revs you pile on, the more neutral it seems to get,’ adds Bovingdon. Meaden is more succinct: ‘It’s fantastic.’”

The 6 finalists are chosen:

2004-present VW Golf GTI mk5
2007-present Mini Cooper S Works GP
1988-91 Peugeot 205 GTI
1993-96 Renault Clio Williams
2005 Renault Clio Trophy
1996-2000 Honda Integra Type-R

“It’s been a long time since I’ve driven an Integra, but it’s like seeing an old friend. You sit low, arms and legs outstretched, rather than hunched over the wheel. Everything feels comfortable and perfectly placed, from the tactile titanium gearknob to the fat-rimmed steering wheel and alloy pedals. Longer, lower, and altogether more rakish than the boxy hatchbacks, when you drop into the coupe’s classic Recaro you know you’re in a different breed of car.

The VTEC motor sounds tinny on start-up, a brittle zing with no apparent guts and a less than sharp throttle response at low revs. The gearshift is delicious: short and precise, even in this 60,000-mile example.

The steering has surprising weight, despite power assistance, but there’s a slight numbness to the feel for the first degree either side of dead centre. However, it’s soon infused with super-detailed and ever-changing feel as you apply more lock, a constant flow of granular, textural feedback flowing through the rim.

Drive the Integra slowly and it feels a bit flaccid. You could almost wonder what all the fuss is about, but once that firecracker engine ignites, the humble Honda is transformed into a humdinger. It thrives on high revs, that classic VTEC kick hitting home at 6000rpm, from which point the fizzing four-cylinder emits a magical howl as the tacho needle homes in on and then passes 8000. It’s like driving a real exotic: the super-high-revving engine, rifle-bolt gearshift, rigid bodyshell and incredibly controlled suspension melding to deliver an sensationally effective performance.

It’s a frantic recipe, but there’s so much more to the Integra than the binary character we’ve become used to in subsequent hot Hondas. You need to work the car hard, but it rewards you with a rich flow of organic feedback, tackling this unforgiving road with rare subtlety and composure, while at the same time keeping you involved every inch of the way.

Grip levels are miraculous on such modest rubber, and the limited-slip differential generates tremendous traction. There’s no torque-steer to speak of, but then it’s hardly rippling with lb ft, which probably explains it. Nevertheless, the combination of taut but supple suspension, a terrifically effective diff, abundant grip and no torque-steer leaves you with one of the purest and least corrupted front-drive helms ever.

As much as becomes abundantly clear as we tackle the corner for the final time. Still accelerating hard in fourth gear, at around 80mph, the Integra doesn’t need any cajoling, coercing, or convincing. It simply turns in, biting hard into the tarmac, with a level of adjustability and fluidity that takes your breath away. It ignores the surface change, dances across the camber, and as momentum and lateral force begin to push the Bridgestones beyond even their prodigious adhesive limits, the Type-R enters a completely different realm.

You feel the nose hint at running wide, but as you apply a little more lock the diff really begins to work, and in so doing brings the tail increasingly into play, to the point where the car actually adopts a mild, natural oversteer stance. Three wheels working hard, one barely in contact with the road, the Integra scythes through at unabated speed, no wasted effort, no scrappy corrections, just searing pace and total involvement.

And Top Gear’s review:

June, 2008 – Carscoop, “These are very first spy shots of the Subaru and Toyota joint-developed rear-wheel-drive coupe. The test mule seen in the pictures looks like it’s sporting many body parts from the Legacy…”

Subaru is reportedly handling the drivetrain, while Toyota will do the exterior.  There’s speculation that the car would be built on a modified Impreza platform.  However, Toyota has mentioned that the engine would sit behind the front wheels, giving the car a ‘front mid-ship’ designation.  I wonder if they’ve used the Legacy’s longer platform to accomodate this.  Hence, the hacked up (and very obviously shortened) Legacy body panels.

In April, 2008 – A VWVortex member scanned these pages, taken from a Japanese magazine, that names the coupe, tentatively…TBX.  “Product of the Toyota-Subaru alliance. Toyota have announce an FR vehicle based of the Subaru platform. Subaru will benefit from its development in its own model, tentatively titled TBX.”

June, 2008 – Auto Express, “Joining the recently launched hatch-back model, it will allow the Japanese company to tackle the BMW 3-Series Coupé and Nissan 350Z head-on, as well as reach out to new customers.

The car has been developed as part of a joint venture with Subaru owner Toyota – the project will also spawn a long-awaited successor to the Nineties Celica. The Impreza coupé takes styling cues from the five-door model, but gets a rakish rear end. That gives it a chunky yet athletic appearance which stands out from the crowd.”

This article from Auto Express makes absolutely no sense to me for 3 reasons.

1) Subaru doesn’t compete with BMW in anything. BMW is a luxury marque, Subaru isn’t. No competition, not even with BMW’s 1-series.

2) Nissan’s 350Z is a 2-seat, V6, RWD coupe. Subaru’s coupe will be a 2+2, boxer-4, RWD coupe. See the only similarities?

RWD coupe. That’s it. Next.

3) “…long-awaited successor to the Nineties Celica” Huh? The world’s waiting for an update to this uninspiring, FWD, open diff’d, bug-eyed beauty?

No way. Maybe an update to the GT-Four…but Subaru already sells a rally-inspired AWD, turbo 4. WRX/STi anyone?

April, 2008 – Autoblog, “Subaru has branded itself as the purveyor of competent, multi-purpose vehicles that begin and end with one distinct feature: all-wheel-drive. By adding another vehicle into its lineup lacking that core trait, Subaru risks diluting its hard-earned image, not to mention going toe-to-toe with the Toyota monolith by selling a badge-engineered variant.”

Subaru’s coupe doesn’t go on sale until 2011 (which means mid-, late-2010), but they’ve already started the rebranding campaign – a move away from being a car company defined by their AWD offerings.

Old: “The Beauty of All Wheel Drive”

New: “Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru”

Update: May, 2008 – Edmunds Inside Line, “The Toyota model, still to be named, will be sold exclusively in Japan, while the Subaru-badged model will be marketed worldwide. The mechanical package will be identical, but both Toyota and Subaru will create exterior designs to differentiate their cars from each other.

…

Surprisingly, the joint Toyota-Subaru R&D team has chosen the out-of-production, front-wheel-drive Honda Integra Type R as its benchmark, because its styling, performance parameters and dimensions mirror what the development team wants to create.

Expected to ride on a 103-inch wheelbase, the 2,866-pound coupes will use a 2+2 seating configuration.”

Even though Subaru’s known for their symmetrical AWD, they’re also more of a niche player. A car company with an attitude and a chip on its’ shoulder. It’d be much more of a stretch for Toyota, known recently for, what…the Camry? to market this car globally, than for Subaru, known for the WRX and STi to do so…

More importantly…”the out-of-production, front-wheel-drive Honda Integra Type R as its benchmark, because its styling, performance parameters and dimensions mirror what the development team wants to create.” This is good news. No, this is GREAT news. If you’ve ever driven one, you’d know why. More on this later.

But, while we’re on the subject. Subaru, if you’re listening (or reading), give us a hatch. One of the ITR’s greatest attributes is it’s versatility. And by versatility, I mean a-couch-in-the-hatch-kinda-versatility. I give you…Exhibit A:

Courtesy of 7TUNE – “The dimensions will place the compact FR sports car in between the S15 Nissan Silvia and the AE86 Toyota Sprinter Trueno/Corolla Levin, with product planning being handled by Toyota and development being handled by Subaru.

”

Know what other cars share these dimensions?

Honda Integra Type-R (vs Subaru Coupe):

Length: 4380mm (4250mm)

Width: 1710mm (1730mm)

Height: 1320mm (1360mm)

E30 BMW M3:

Length: 4346mm (4250mm)

Width: 1679mm (1730mm)

Height: 1369mm (1360mm)

August, 2007 – Toyota contemplates building the spiritual successor to the AE86…in cooperation with Subaru.

April 9, 2008 – Autocar reports, “Toyota and Subaru are joining forces to develop a sensational new sports coupé together, shown above in an Autocar image.

An inside source revealed top-secret sketches, showing that the car’s brief is to be compact, lightweight, rear drive and fast. Although the Subaru and Toyota versions of this coupé will look different from one another around the front and rear, both will be powered by Subaru’s 2.0-litre flat four engine, making this the first time that a Subaru boxer engine has powered a Toyota.

A naturally aspirated version of the petrol boxer engine with 175bhp is being considered for the base model, and there is potential for a hot 2.5-litre turbocharged model later.

This will be a car inspired by the classic rear-drive AE86 Toyota Corolla GT coupé from the 1980s, a car known for tail-happy handling. Yet beneath the skin we can expect a reworked Impreza, shortened, lightened and with a bespoke coupé body.

Subaru’s trademark four-wheel drive system will be ditched to save weight, complexity and cost. However,

if the standard model is a success then later plans could include a spiritual successor to the Toyota Celica GT4, featuring the 2.5-litre turbo boxer engine and four-wheel drive.”

While they’re reworking the Impreza underpinnings, can they add some negative camber into the mix?  Maybe find enough room to ditch the struts and go with something a bit more modern – double wishbones, anyone?