Road and Track says that the Subaru Coupe is back on.  Is it?  Who knows, but this is what they said, 

We’ve reported on this before, but we now have stronger evidence than ever that Toyota is getting back into the affordable sports-coupe game with an all-new model priced at around $20,000–$25,000. This front-engine/rear-drive 2-door will reincarnate the spirit of the 1983–1987 Corolla Levin/Trueno (AE86), a car that’s still popular today, especially among drift enthusiasts. According to our friends at Best Car magazine, Toyota’s code name for this future sports car is 086A. That it’s so similar to AE86 is no coincidence.

Is this anything new?  No.  But it’s something.  And that’s better than nothing…right?

I guess this means the car is back on again.

Autoblog also says that the Toyabaru will make its’ way to the Tokyo motor show in October.

But 7Tune says we’re back on.

 

The Second Coming..

With rumors of cancellations and postponements abound for the new Toyota/Subaru sports car, new rumors have sprung up showing that Toyota are still in fact keeping to plan and not letting the global financial crisis get in the way of development.

New Legacy Base

With the green light on for a new coupe to follow in the footsteps of the “AE86”, it has been learned that the base of the car has been finalized and will come from the new Legacy that is to be released in May. The only differences will be a slightly shorter wheelbase but that the car will retain and incorporate the new Subaru’s front strut suspension and rear multilink setup. Development codes, at least for the Japanese model, have been also been decided. The previously mentioned ‘086A’ will be given to the Japanese Domestic Market model with possible ‘slight’ changes earmarked for other markets, including North America and Europe.

 

Alive.

Dead.

Alive.

Could the wankers at Toyota and Subaru please make up their minds already!

The sporty compact car Subaru and Toyota were developing together has been put on hold because of the worldwide economic slowdown, both companies confirm.

Don’t fret!  7Tune’s got good news.

 

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.  Production will be postponed for several months so that D-4S direct injection can be applied to the flat-4 boxer engine. Production will now 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.

 

At a time when many carmakers are pulling out of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) due to the economic crisis, Subaru has not only confirmed that it will be present in Detroit this January, but also that it will stage the world debut of a concept vehicle. As we speak, we have no official information concerning the type of car that Subaru is preparing to unveil at Detroit’s Cobo Centre. However, we wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Japanese automaker presented a concept version of its forthcoming rear-wheel-drive compact coupe that is being developed in collaboration with Toyota and is scheduled for a 2010 /2011 market launch. We’ll keep a close eye on this story and will pass any information on as soon as we come across it.

While I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed off a version of the RWD coupe, I’d be even less surprised if they showed off some eco/diesel/electric mashup.  Only time will tell.

Toyota has decided to delay the production and merchandising of the new compact sports car, which is being jointly developed with Fuji Heavy Industries. The original plan was to start production by the end of 2011 and to launch the product in Japan. The postponement period is still pending but the launch will be sometime after 2012, depending on market conditions. Both companies have worked closely together since April, and the sports car project was supposed to be one of pillars of the collaboration, the domestic market conditions have become more severe. It was judged that securing sufficient sales is very difficult at this time. 

So I’ll repeat, fuck the credit crunch.  That is all.

Update: From Bloomberg on 12/26/08:

Mori reiterated the company’s plan to build a factory in Japan to make a sports car developed with Toyota. Still, the two companies may make “a minor adjustment” to its original plan to start production by the end of 2011, he said.

At least they’re reaffirming that the car will be built.  I guess that’s the consolation prize.  Again, fuck the credit crunch.

In the middle of December, Subaru pulled out of WRC for 2009, citing the move to the S2000 ruleset as the deciding factor.

It only makes sense that they bring the RWD coupe to market now, right?  Surely that car, if it comes to market, would be easier to adopt to the new ruleset…we can hope.

Ken calls it Gymkhana, which it isn’t really, but it still kicks ass.

I don’t really care what it’s badged as, so long as the tachometer is in front of the steering wheel, not in the middle of the dash, like on the xB: