Toyota Previews Sporty FT-86 Concept

Perhaps Toyota has invested too much of its time to hybrids and small cars in recent years when it has to end a press release conveying the fact that its latest concept vehicle is “neither an electric vehicle nor a hybrid.” Set to debut at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota released some images and details of the sleek FT-86 Concept vehicle. This is the vehicle that many in the automotive industry have referred to as the “Toyobaru” since it is being co-developed by Toyota and Subaru (Toyota holds a 16.5 percent stake in Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries). The new car clearly shows the direction that Toyota’s new president, Akio Toyoda, is taking the company’s future vehicle designs.

Helping to fill the gap left by sporty vehicles such as the Toyota MR2, Toyota Supra and Toyota Celica, the FT-86 Concept gets a unique design that was created by Toyota’s European Design Development (ED2) center in France. The design of the FT-86 Concept was first teased by the Toyota FT-HS Concept at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and although the exterior design of the new concept looks very production ready, it still retains most of the FT-HS Concept’s exterior styling. The car’s most distinguishable design element is evident from the front of the car with upswept lines in the front fascia leading up to thin, triangular headlamps. The fascia and headlamps also help to create a leading edge for the sculpted hood and the widely flared front wheel arches. Like the FT-HS Concept, the latest concept still features a rounded front end, but the lower air intake is much larger giving it a more aggressive face.

In profile, the FT-86 retains the upswept body crease that starts at the base of the front wheel arch and flows back under the rear quarter window creating an arched effect for the rear wheels as well. The rear view of the new concept also reveals the full width rear taillights and the blacked-out lower air diffuser, but an obvious change for the new design is the lack of air intakes that cluttered the look of the FT-HS. One of the most noticeable changes between the concept cars is the new roofline that will allow for a 2+2 seating configuration and improve driver visibility. While the FT-HS Concept had a raked roofline that looked similar to the current Nissan GT-R, the FT-86 shows off a more passenger friendly roofline and . The A-pillars are still blacked out given the roof a cantilevered effect. The look of the new concept vehicle is finished off by a unique blue-red metallic paint (seemingly inspired by the reddish color of a Japanese monkey’s posterior) and slick set alloy wheels that feature a twisted five-spoke design with a two-tone coloring effect.

The exterior definitely gives an indication of where Toyota’s designers are heading with the new production car, but the interior still maintains a design fitting for a concept vehicle. Compared to the 2007 FT-HS Concept’s jet-fighter cabin, the new concept is more toned down but still very far from production ready. The design of the instrument panel, gauge cluster and seats are all attractive, and hopefully indicate the production model’s design. An amusing aspect of the cabin is the fact that the stereo head unit is hidden by a leather cover, but the button functions are still printed on the cover so the stereo can still be used. For those who would rather interact with the stereo directly, the cover is removable thanks to two zippers, and the CD slot is also protected by a zipper.

While the FT-HS Concept had a hybrid drivetrain, the FT-86 Concept (as well as the production version) gets Subaru’s peppy boxer engine with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. In its newest concept, Toyota uses Subaru’s 2.0-liter horizontally opposed, naturally aspirated Boxer engine used in Japanese-spec Impreza models. In those models, this engine produces 150 horsepower, but since this engine is very turbo-friendly, we wouldn’t rule out a higher trim level, performance-tuned version using a turbocharger and intercooler to increase horsepower somewhat closer to the current Impreza GT’s 224 horsepower. Although the FT-86 Concept features a rear-wheel drive layout, we expect the Subaru production version to keep with that company’s tradition of offering all of its products with all-wheel drive, while this feature will most likely be optional on the Toyota version.

As for the dimensions of the FT-86 Concept provided by Toyota, the new car will be smaller than the most recent Toyota Celica that ended production in 2006. Compared to the seventh-generation Celica (2000-2006), the FT-86 is shorter in height and length but slightly wider. Toyota designed the FT-86 to ride on a dedicated platform so it wouldn’t have to follow the constraints of any existing Toyota platform, and the car’s 101.2-inch wheelbase (1.2 inches shorter than the Celica) should be perfect for a sports car. Overall length will be 163.8 inches (about 7 inches shorter than the Celica), while the squatty, sporty look of the concept vehicle comes from its 69.3-inch width and 49.6-inch height (1 inch wider and about 2 inches shorter than the Celica).

Toyota doesn’t really have a long history of sporty vehicles, so the naming for the new concept vehicle was inspired by the rear-wheel drive Corolla-based AE86 coupe that was around back in the 1980s. By the time this car enters production, it is likely that Toyota will revive the Celica nameplate, while the Subaru model is said to be called the Impreza Coupe. Regardless of naming, we expect the production version of the FT-86 Concept to debut in 2011 with likely competition to include the Mazda RX-8 and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Pricing for the production version of the Toyota FT-86 Concept will be in the $20,000 range.

The 2009 Toyota FT-86 Concept will hit the stage at the Tokyo Motor Show which runs from 0ctober 24 through November 4.