The president of Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru, who together with Toyota, jointly developed a sports coupe together that is a spiritual successor to the iconic Toyota Corolla AE86, has let slip on a late 2011 launch for the car.
Mori Ikuo, in a recent interview with a Tokyo-based newspaper, let it be known that the car, dubbed the FT-86 in an apparent homage to the AE86, will debut as a late 2011 model.
He further went on to mention that testing on the car is almost complete and that the design team is finalising the cosmetic touches. In describing the car, he used terms such as ‘very comfortable, fuel efficient, low center of gravity and instilling driver confidence.’
The car will be powered by a 2-liter turbocharged boxer engine from the Subaru stable pushing out 260hp to either the rear wheels or all four wheels through a six-speed manual box. Toyota and Subaru will both have their own versions of the car, hence the different drivetrain layouts with Toyota going with the rear-drive plan and Subaru implementing their trademark all-wheel drive onto the nimble little coupe.
Source: WorldCarFans
