Im still just gassed that their will finally be something worthy of a TRD badge!

long overdue,bring it on

I have said they should for years.

Better not be a hybrid or in any way ‘green’.

Why does Toyota need Subaru and vice versa? What’s the point to this partial marriage.

Why would Subaru lend out one of it core components/values, the boxer engine?

yipes?

Finally some news from Toyota that is making me happy for once. As I’ve been saying and I’ll say it again Toyota needs to bring something sporty back in their lineup, besides the crap Scion Tc, (which because it’s a FWD sub-compact) isn’t a sports car. And the Camry Solara, just a 2dr FWD coupe/convertible car for women. Toyota needs something!

Ok… so basically what this news says is that the car is going to be shared with the Impreza, and is going to be a RWD 2dr Coupe, 3dr Hatch, two trim models. GT 200hp under or at $20,000 and GT-Four AWD 300hp turbocharged boxer $20k+.

“The turbocharged powerplant will also be set back in the car’s chassis to improve handling.”
This has me stumped. Do they mean that the turbocharger is positioned in the back of the engine farther back in the engine bay? Or are we talking about a mid-engine setup?

While $20k territory and the words GT and GT-Four are mentioned this sounds to me like this is going to be the next Toyota Celica.

However seeing that the previous Celica was FWD does that mean they are switching it to RWD to compete with the other RWD sports cars? So if its 20k territory this probably isn’t a Supra replacement, but with the turbocharged powerplant being positioned in the back and if its mid engined, but being a 2dr coupe, and 3dr hatch it can’t be a MR2.

My bet is it’s going to be the next Celica, and if Toyota gives this to Scion and makes this the Tc replacement God help them.

I don’t recall the Supra ever being “King of the Hill” of anything other than king of overweight sports cars. It was king of the Toyota lineup, but that’s not saying much.

Before all you Supra fanboys start flaming me, I’m well aware of the Supra’s mod potential. I’m talking about the car in stock form, as Toyota sold it. It was overweight and overpriced. It was killed for those reasons, and because it wasn’t all that attractive of a car.

The base model 200 hp RWD version better weigh under 3000 lbs.

KING OF THE HILL SUPRA? the 300z kicked its ass, unless they mean tuned i guess???????????

Agreed Z06, CTS Driver. During its heyday the 300z was the better Japanese sportscar stock for stock. Both were killed for being overpriced. A tuned Supra will do amazing things but any tuned car can be made to do amazing things. Not hating on Supras but sometimes we need to remember the cars in the light of day.

This car sounds like a Celica which may be up against stiff competition in the Altima coupe. The New Impreza is butt ugly so Subaru shouldn’t worry about anyone stealing sales. It won’t have any.

What they mean by ’set back in the car’s chassis’ is that the bulk of the engine will be behind the front axle.

What’s interesting is that neither Subaru nor Toyota make sexy cars, bar the SVX, Supra and some MR2s.

what toyota shoud have done is put the “toyota supra” badge on tha LF-A concept . It whould compete in the US market because people anticipate the return of the supra

I’ll believe it when I see it. As for right now, I can only think of Toyota+Subaru as an automotive disaster.

Ok, meanpants555. yeah I didn’t think that that sentence was leading to a mid-engine setup rather than the engine just sitting further back. And if it’s based off of the Subaru (Impreza) platform that’s going to have to be a front engine set-up.

Personally I think the Altima coupe is a joke, yeah they offer a 3.5L V6 in it, but loaded it’s like 2k away from a 350Z and it’s still FWD. I think whatever Toyota makes of this will kill the Altima Coupe.

If they make it up to 200 HP and down to 3,000 pounds, this car could become what we cheap sport compact fans have always wanted: a 240SX with a real engine. Hurry the **** up!

PS – Quick stats for the 93-98 Supra: 0-60 in 4.6 seconds (making it the second-fastest Japanese car of the 90s, after the NSX), 0.97g grip.

Two Tings!
First Ting: There is nothing to this story, at least for us.
My #2: WHEN TOYOTA FEELS LIKE IT, they could make the best sports car on Earth! Period!
I will soon introduce you to Exhibit B (We all are very familiar with Exhibit A)
DrFill

The way i see it toyota shot themselves in the foot and id say their name is too “buick” aka “geriatric mobiles” to try and make anyone think otherwise, at least within the next decade. They will have to reprove themselves more than once in this “ring” if they want a decent sporty image that can run with the likes of a nissan rather than making a 2 door with numb steering, a soft suspension, and im sure in some cases a fat battery pack, and thinking they could go punch for punch with something like a 350Z or S2000

Dr Fill? “When Toyota feels like it, They could make the best sports car on Earth! Period”

I will agree with you on the premises that they can make very good and very desirable true sports cars, as I am a Supra, Celica and MR2 fan. However my question to you and not even you could answer this is why haven’t they made the best sports car in the world then?

I agree with A4 because of their absence from this market anything they throw at us especially lately won’t just be widely liked (well it may be by idiots or fanboys) unless its truly a good vehicle. As of now a Subaru shared front engine, RWD and AWD 200hp and 300hp turbo models sports car doesn’t exactly = the recipe for the best sports car, especially for what it’s facing, as vLane said if they can make this a good quality and valued affordable sports car, with RWD/AWD then they will have something worthwile in my eyes already accomplished. If it looks good, has the goods and is more affordable than a Mustang, Challenger, and Camaro I’ll buy this over those and switch my name to GT-Four4Life…

However my question to you and not even you could answer this is why haven’t they made the best sports car in the world then?

The answer is elementary.
The put a $%&*load of money into the last Supra, and didn’t get it back, at least not enough for a redesign.
Toyota is all about the Benjamins.

Plus they would need a dedicated platform to launch Toyota’s version of the greatest sports car, one which may be coming from Lexus shortly.

The short answer is economies of scale and the ROI aren’t conducive to make a business case for such an animal.

People don’t go to Toyota to find the greatest sports car in the world, so it’s a tough sell, whether they make it, or not.

I fear the days of true sports cars, with all-conquering performance, and manual trannys, are gone, at least for Toyota.

They just aren’t cost effective.

If you know of a stock Supra Turbo, buy it, and don’t ever let it go.

DrFill

The Altima is almost priced the same as a 350Z? Really?…

And with all the mention about the 350Z…

Oh man I’m really waiting for the 370Z. I really hope it looks a lot like the new G37 except a little more aggressive and slimmer, and put on a massive diet. Then it’d become one of my fav cars …

Oh … and notice how excited I am about this Toyota news … I didn’t even mention anything about it.

If the GT-4 model is $25k, looks sexy but not like a kid’s car, and isn’t fat, I might have to take a real look at it though…

Anything European or Japanese with 300hp is going to be over $30,000.

Toyota and Lotus would a match made in heaven: I know I’ve said this fifty times, but it is worth hearing again.

That would be a good answer then DrFill. Points well taken and thanks for the schooling in economics…

Yeah G, I’m referring again to the Altima Coupe. the 2.5L 4cyl 174hp coupe starts at 20k. Then the 3.5L 270hp trim starts at 25k. Even with a 6spd manual after you add the premium package to get leather seats, moonroof, etc that package is 3k so I priced one online at 28k for a 270hp FWD Nissan Altima Coupe, I’ll spend that money on a 350Z before I’d get that.

Yeah meanpants555, for that kind of hp to come from a foreign vehicle priced in North America especially a 300hp Turbo AWD vehicle, (Evo and STI come to mind) It more than likely will cost over or at least 30k. Even if Toyota could price it competitively with a RX8 or a 350Z for a somewhat loaded one your looking at paying over 30k (U.S). The other thing that scares me is what the price of insurance is going to be on those things. The cost of insurance for a 05 Celica GT-S that I was looking into buying when I was shopping for a new car 2 years ago, scared me right out of buying it.

CTS, Jazz: I agree.
But when you factor in the RX-7, 300GT VR-4, NSX and yes, Supra, it was a good time to be a fan of that sort of car.

G theres already images of the 370Z out and its just a major facelift

they arent official but they give a good idea of it

Dr Fill

You are completely delusional and overtly obsessed with Toyota. Why the fuk would you think that Toy can build the ‘best’ sports car if they wanted to?? What do you have that supports that?

Name 5 past great sports car that Toy and each of the other Jap automakers have built.

France builds ‘interesting’ hatchbacks. Italy builds exotic sports cars. Germany builds luxury cars. America is home of the V8 and large cars (especially RWD), Japan builds econoboxes!

Hey!
Who are you calling obsessed?
I’m not obsessed!
I’m convinced.
BIG difference.
DrFill

Make it square and boxy like the K-car.

Sorry, I gave away my identity – Lee Iacooca

Commodore, I wouldn’t exactly say Japan builds econoboxes. Korea? Maybe . . . India? For sure! But Japan has brought quite a few sport cars even to the U.S. before the public bought into the idea of SUV. RX-7, Supra, NSX, 3000GT, SVX, 300ZX, GTR (in the future) just to name a few. There is nothing economical about them, not in the price tag, and not in performance. Does Japan make the best sport cars? No, but then how much do you want to spend? Not everyone can afford a Ferrari, Lambo or Aston (and ok the new GTR too).

I am just glad to see more aerodynamic sport cars that are not retro over SUVs on the road.

Japan (Toyota) will build a sports car like Japanese manufactures do – high in quality, med/High in performance, med in price, med in design.

Ok guys, until we actually see the car for sale in US there’s no point speculating whether it’ll be crap or the best budget sports car ever made.

Listen to yourself people. You’re all arguing about some as yet unseen bastardized ’sporty’ Toyota. I think it’s funny as hell. This just goes to prove that when you have a company run by clones, building vehicles for clones, original thinking is probably not only forbidden but likely punished. Got insomnia? Go to a Toyota showroom.

Give the GT to Scion and make it a lightweight drifter. The tC becomes the pimpmaster lux cruiser and the xB continues as the shrunken 1970’s van. Kill the xD

If that’s your view, don’t set foot in a domestic showroom.
They try, and fail, to copy, and keep up with, the Japanese at every opportunity. Buyers have figured this out. I guess you haven’t.
The Japanese are the teachers.
We are still learning.
Last year we learned the DOHC.
Sweet!

Got insomnia? Go to Ford’s design studio. Or look under the hood of a GM product.

DrFill

The Japanese are the teachers?
Actually they learned everything (in the beginning from the U.S auto manufacturers and the Europeans)
Toyota didn’t invent the assembly line, They weren’t even around when the assembly line was invented
While Toyota (and many of the Japanese companies) are good at improving existing technologies, are young compared to companies like Ford and other European auto manufacturers, but yes they do come out with some pretty ingenious ideas as well.

Everyone is copying from everyone now-a-days, whether you walk in a domestic or foreign showroom all their designs seem to be inspired by their competition.

well let me correct myself not all of everyones’ designs, but a lot.

The Subaru 2.5L turbocharged boxer is available in a variety of afordable, somewhat sporty, Subaru vehicles. Why do I want to wait to have a Toyota body wrapped around it? Happy with my Legacy GT, confused about this partnership…

Personally I find this whole idea extremely odd. Say what you will, but Toyota has more than enough credentials to produce a proper sports-car from top to bottom, without having to borrow a Subaru engine. I really don’t see this coming to fruitation, ever. I do think that Toyota will and should use a three-tier sports car strategy though.

Obviously the LF-A at the top.
Rebirth of the Supra in the middle, and as much as I’d drool over another turbo 6 there will never be another 2JZ block, so I’ll take a V8.
Then have a new Celica-ish in price and size sporty car, probably as a Scion, but please, no Subaru engine.

Nothing against Subaru, but a boxer-4 belongs in an Impreza, not a Toyota.

so this I actually don’t know because I’m not really familiar with boxer engines, but what are the advantages of Toyota not using their own design, or own turbo 6?

It can’t be just a money and resource saver can it? Plus I don’t really know Toyota’s U.S. engine range so I don’t know if they even have a real performance engine after the 1.8 VVT-i or the 2JZ.

(I hear ya LexusSoarer on the 2JZ block.) I wish I was a Canadian resident because then I’d be trying to import a JDM MKIV Supra RZ right about now.

http://www.terra2imports.ca/toyota/supra/

Toyota won’t bring the Supra back, but…..
If you were to have a sporting Toyota, and had access to Subaru parts, why not use the 2.5 Subie engine for openers, then a tuned 3.5 Toyota engine for 370Z competition?
I’m sure Toyota can get 350HP, without boring the engine.
DrFill

SS4Life: You’re right

toyota has caught my attention if the bring back the gtfour with subaru awd, and a ae86.

the reason that subaru is putting its engine in a toyota is because toyota owns a good portion of subaru. I’m excited to hear the news that theyre fusing, subaru engine in a toyota engine. It’ll sound bad ass and look sweet. theres gotta be something to rivel the GT-R(as much as i love that too). But competition is healthy. I only hope they dont decide to make it some auto-manual piece of crap, it should be a manual trans only.