I can see clearly now...as Subaru brings a transparent version of its new sports car to Geneva.
There’s been plenty of smog in the air when it comes to the new Subaru sports car the Japanese maker is developing with its Japanese affiliate, Toyota, so the smaller carmaker wisely brought a transparent prototype to the Geneva Motor Show, this week, to help clear things up.
A variety of Subaru insiders provided some insight into what we can expect when the as yet-unnamed sports car goes into production in the spring of 2012. The biggest news is that it will, indeed, be offered in the U.S., something that had been long undecided.
Equally significant, TheDetroitBureau.com has learned, Subaru’s Boxer Sports Car – as it is currently referred to – will come only in rear-wheel-drive configuration. It will, in fact, be the only model in the Subaru of America line-up that won’t be sold exclusively with all-wheel-drive.
Toyota is showing off its own prototype of the new sports car, the FT-86 Concept II.
As one source said, “You want a car like this to be a little tail happy,” meaning you can truly toss it around in the corners.
The final production model will be a bit smaller and a fair bit lighter than the current Impreza- based Subaru models, and what you might call well-founded rumors suggest it will deliver about 200 horsepower, compared with the WRX at 265 hp, and STI at 305.
The transparent concept vehicle is more than just a metaphor. It offers a functional opportunity for Subaru to demonstrate precisely what it has brought to the project, notably including the 2.0-liter, Direct-Injection, naturally-aspirated inline-four powerplant.
Subaru handled the sports car's "oily bits."
The “oily bits,” as the Brits are fond of saying, have largely been engineered by Subaru, the rest of the project the responsibility of Toyota, which will bring a version of the sports car to market, most likely using the FT-86 name – a concept version, the FT-86 Concept II on display at its stand at the Geneva Motor Show.
The project was conceived by Subaru, which brought the idea to Toyota, in 2006, shortly after the industry giant expanded its stake in the smaller brand.
Ironically, the idea of borrowing Subaru technology, such as the boxer engine, had been considered by General Motors, which briefly owned a major stake in Subaru. At one point, GM even considered whether to let Subaru participate in the short-lived Pontiac Solstice program. Nothing ever came of the idea and GM soon sold off its Subaru stake.
Insiders at Subaru and Toyota say the difference between the two versions of the rear-drive sports car will be relatively minimal.
The new offerings will be targeting a segment of the market that has been in decline in recent years, with the Mazda MX-5 Miata its only real competitor. As has happened in the past, observers believe the infusion of credible new product could actually work to everyone’s advantage by luring more buyers back into the segment, rather than simply seeing the Miata cannibalized by Subaru and Toyota.