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.
Written By

Steve Davies
Steve is an investor, private equity advisor and former Partner at KPMG, PwC and Bain. Most importantly he's a life-long car enthusiast, mountain biker and active sports enthusiast. He designs and builds technology platforms and is the architect behind Transmission.
Try These Next
Stories we think you'll enjoy
December 1, 2021
All I want for Christmas . . . Is an MG TD
A boy's first encounter with an MG TD turned into a dream drive for Steve Hindle as he finally got behind the wheel of a true British classic
April 18, 2016
Can-Am Spyder F3 Limited – First Ride (w/VIDEO)
On the face of it, a bike which doesn't lean, is too wide to weave through traffic and can't pull a wheelie sounds pretty pointless - like a solution…
January 26, 2016
Judgement Day for the Holy Trinity: McLaren P1 vs Porsche 918 Spyder vs LaFerrari (w/VIDEOS)
Three of the fastest hypercars on the planet tested side-by-side for the very first time - Steve Davies joins Supercar Driver to find out which is…
7 Comments
Add comment Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
That is stunning! I would quite happily get into serious debt if they released the car with all of those design attributes! Truly amazing!
That is stunning! I would quite happily get into serious debt if they released the car with all of those design attributes! Truly amazing!
aaaaaaaaaaa toyota finally!!!!!! why such a wait?!
aaaaaaaaaaa toyota finally!!!!!! why such a wait?!
wow!, think I should start saving now! Been waiting for this for a long time.
wow!, think I should start saving now! Been waiting for this for a long time.
I wanna find more info about this, anybody could?