Toyota FT-86 to get Subaru 2.0 litre Boxer engine

The Scion FR-S Concept - the North American Toyota FT-86

It’s actually starting to look as if Toyota – and Subaru, for that matter – are really going to finally get their respective fingers out and deliver to the market the affordable sports cat they’ve been promising for the last two year.

The original Toyota FT-86 surfaced in 2009 with a promise of affordability and fun and we all got quite excited, especially as it was a surprisingly brave move for an increasingly bland and corporate Toyota. But then everything went rather quiet.

Fast forward to 2011 and we got the ‘FT-86:The return’ featuring at a motor show near you, with the Toyota FT-86 II at the Geneva Motor Show and its Scion-badged sibling for North America showing up at the New York Motor Show as the Scion FR-S Concept.

Both cars came without any real detail - and without an interior, as far as we could work out – but now, finally, we get some news on what’s going to underpin the FT-86, whether it’s the Toyota FT-86, Subaru FT-86 or Scion FT-86. Or even if they change the name before they launch it.

Subaru – as we suspected from the start – will be producing the engine that powers the FT-86. That means a 2.0 litre 4-pot Boxer lump fitted with Toyota’s DS-4 technology, which is said to result in more power and torque without harming emissions or economy.

We also know that the FT-86 will come sporting a six-speed manual ‘box as standard with an auto with flappy paddles as an option. Also in the package of the compact sports car will be a limited slip diff. All of which promises fun, at least.

But how much fun? A 2.0 litre Subaru lump could generate anything from 150bhp to 300bhp. It can also be bolted to a RWD platform or a 4WD one. But we’re guessing we’re likely to be looking at the lower end of the power scale and RWD if the FT-86 is going to come anywhere close to being an ‘affordable’ offering.

So we know more about the FT-86 than we did. But not a lot.

By Cars UK