Joint venture gaining traction

It will be the first rear-driven, front-engined flat-four sports car since the Jowett Jupiter, and will fit into the Toyota range where the Celica used to be, writes DAVE MOORE.

Launched to the public at the Tokyo Motor Show today, the Toyota FT-86 concept is the much-awaited "Toyobaru" coupe that has long been rumoured but only now has appeared in the flesh.

The Toyota half of the joint venture is the first to appear, and renderings of the Subaru half have also been seen, but the latter car is expected to follow the FT-86 into production by up to a year, albeit with all-wheel-drive and turbocharging.

Toyota is quick to confirm that the car is still in its concept stage, but we'd judge the interior as a ready- for-production affair.

It hasn't been confirmed, but reports have it that the Toyota and Subaru versions of the new coupe will be built by Subaru and will share, in base form at least, a Subaru- sourced 2.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-four engine.

The Toyota version of the FT-86 is an important car for the Japanese giant, which in the past few years, has dispensed with its Supra, Celica and MR2 models.

In fact, the car will be the first genuinely sporty Toyota since the demise of the MR2 in early 2007.

With turbocharging options, the five-seat FT-86 could fulfil the Supra and Celica briefs without too much trouble, but a soft-top version is not thought to be on the agenda.

Styling-wise, the FT-86 looks similar to the FT-HS hybrid concept from the 2007 Detroit car show, and the hybrid factor is unlikely to be completely dispensed with, because Subaru is known to be working on petrol-electric versions of its flat-four drivetrains.

Measuring 4160mm long by 1760 wide, the FT-86 is not a large car.

The number 86 is a deliberate choice, referring to Toyota's best rear-drive car, the 1.6-litre AE86 Corolla of the mid-1980s, which even today is regarded as a collector's item among those who recognise the car as one of most useful and inexpensive track toys there is.

If the handling prowess of the AE86 is something that Toyota and partner Subaru are aiming at, then the low centre of gravity offered by the flat-four power unit is a good place to start.

The FT-86, or "hachi roku", also has rear-wheel drive, and from my memory, the last flat-four rear- driven sports car would be the Jowett Jupiter, which used its own 1.5-litre drivetrain's low centre of gravity and rear-drive to win its class at the Le Mans 24-hour race and in the Monte Carlo Rally more than 50 years ago.