Toyota brings back the Hachi Roku

The AE-86 Corolla of the 1980’s is a well revered icon of the D1 Drift series, and now Toyota is aiming to recapture the spirit of Hachi-Roku (Japanese for eight-six) with their new FT-86 Concept.

Due to break cover for the first time at the Tokyo motor show later this month, the FT-86 is a compact rear-wheel drive coupe less than 4.2 metres (4,160 mm) in length.

Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre boxer engine from Subaru producing over 200bhp and sending it’s power to the rear wheels via a 6-speed gearbox. The FT-86 will go on sale in late 2011 with rumours of a Subaru version following shortly after with its own styling.

The FT-86 will fill a void in Toyota’s model range following the demise of the MR2 and Celica, and the lack of a truly sporting model to reflect their Formula 1 activities.

It might seem odd for Toyota to be fitting a Subaru engine into one of its cars, however Toyota owns a 16.5% stake in Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries and its compact 2.0-litre boxer engine should contribute well to the FT-86’s low centre of gravity.