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Whoops! New Toyota RWD Coupe Leaked

October 28, 2011 by Matt

Toyota FT-86 FT86 Scion FRS FR-S Coupe RWD

Add this to the Apple iPhone-style “probably intentional leak” file. In other words, in this day and age, what with all the buzz-building that takes place online, and given the FT-86’s target market is almost entirely comprised of tech-savvy 20-somethings, I’d wager not many folks believe Toyota really minds the extra publicity afforded by the “accidental” pre-release leak of the upcoming car’s showroom brochure.

Toyota FT-86 FT86 Scion FRS FR-S Coupe RWD

In any event, it’s neat to be able to size up the first true sports car offering from Toyota in quite a while, and this from a company that in the early ’90s had three sports car offerings in production simultaneously: the range-topping Supra, sidekick Celica and mid-engined MR-2.

The “FT-86” moniker (it will be marketed as the Scion FR-S in the States) of the new car is a giveaway that it’s meant to reach back a bit farther than the aforementioned sporty offerings and tap into the cult following achieved by the late, great ’83-’87 “Hachi-Roku” AE86 Corolla of Initial D fame.

As for the design itself, it’s appropriately well-tailored and refreshingly free of the unsettling awkwardness than characterizes what’s likely to be its main rival, Hyundai’s Genesis Coupe. The size and shape of vents in the fascia is definitely reminiscent of the legendary ’93-’98 Mark 4 Supra. Overall, the car exudes a crisp confidence, and will likely be just the starting point for the cottage industry of bodywork and engine tuners that will undoubtedly rally around it. They’ve been waiting for a worthy, all-new Japanese RWD coupe for a long, long time.

Filed under: News, Toyota

4 Comments

  1. John D says:

    Front end reminds me quite a bit of Jaguar’s new look…if a titch edgier. And the rear end reminds me of something. Some sort of BMW coupe, perhaps? What was that one they made in the late 90’s that was compared to a breadbox? You know, the funky looking one… Or perhaps a Maserati. I dunno… Either way, me likie.

    • Matt says:

      Agreed, the front does have overtones of Jaguar’s C-X16 concept, and the taillights look very much like the refreshed Z4’s. I don’t see any of the Z3 M Coupe (a.k.a the Clownshoe, or Breadvan) in there, though. The only thing I’m not completely sold on is the exaggerated “splitter” look at the bottom of the front valence. Makes the car look like it’s got a goatee.

      As was pointed out on another site, a lot of the details like the splitter, wheels and chrome strips on the doors could be “TRD accessories,” and not intended for the basic car.

  2. John D says:

    Yes, the newer Z4…that’s what I was thinking of.

    Just saw an article in Car and Driver about the new Subaru sports car, which apparently was mostly engineered by Subaru and styled by Toyota (or so claim the project managers at Subaru). They were able to do a test drive, but were unable to take pics of the finished product. The initial reviews were very favorable, with special mention of an excellent chassis and almost neutral feel and weight distribution, and I look forward to seeing more on this car in the future.

    • Matt says:

      Yeah, that’s probably the BRZ. Evidently the Subaru version will be the more hardcore sports car, and the Toyota variant the more “sports coupe-y” flavor. I do hope they differentiate them from each other more than, say, your average badge-engineered pair of cars.

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