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Now that the fuel efficient Japanese automaker Toyota has officially announced that the FT-86 Concept will bring the highly anticipated AE-86 successor to life, we are eager to see what the other half of the Toyobaru alliance has planned for the new sport compact. We know that Subaru must have some iteration of the new two door sports coupe awaiting in the in the wings and the rumors are saying that their in house tuner Subaru Technica International is working on something special for 2011. While the Toyota is powered by a gas sipping 2.0 Liter flat four that makes 150 HP, the STI version will be powered by Subaru’s 2.5 Liter EJ25 turbocharged boxer engine that will be tuned to around 250 HP. It is also expected that the new car’s design will be heavily inspired by the current Impreza WRX STI with wider front and rear fenders to house wider rubber and an increased track along with an STI tuned suspension as well as a unique front bumper and a bespoke rear wing. As a short reminder, the Flash Red FT-86 Concept is inspired by the Toyota Corolla based AE-86 sports coupe from the 1980s. The car’s rear wheel drive layout, lightweight construction and economy car status made it the vehicle of choice for both grip and drift drivers alike and is one of the few cars today that is worth more currently than it did when it rolled out of the showroom. .
14 comments: 2011 Subaru 086A STi True, reliability is not everything, and more power is always good. But it’s not like this thing is boring as it is, especially as far as 20K cars are concerned, and to me reliability is worth more than added power in a car that’s already plenty fun to drive.
 The idea behind tuner vehicles (STi, EVO, Silvias and such) is for them to have a race ready chassis with the engine and gearbox built to handle moderate to massive amounts of power with little or no trouble.
So basically you are happy to drive a 150hp rear wheel drive all the while knowing the chassis is begging for more? Not me. And if a tuned car goes wrong, the tuner is more to blame than the components. I don’t know about you, but my engine and gearbox are pretty important to me and I’d rather not have to pay if something goes wrong. HKS and Greddy? Look up the things that have happened to Supra owners with their aftermarketed cars, and compare that to the stock model’s perfect "10" in edmunds . com’s reliability survey. Not true. A factory warranty won’t matter much to anyone who wants a faster car at a low pricetag. Besides, you will only lose the warranty for the engine and gearbox, if the car has any other problems, the dealership will have to fix it. Aftermarket part sellers like HKS and Greddy do plenty of extensive testing, in some cases, race testing, before they launch their products. Yes, but the premium you pay for TRD upgrades as oppossed to aftermarket items is reflected in you car’s reliability. Not only are TRD upgrades the most dependable performance-enhancers out there, but aftermarket parts will void your factory warranty.
Not really, while manufacturer items are very good, you can get cheaper aftermarket parts for less. These cars are tuner specials anyway. For a few grand, you can have a reflash, intake exhaust work done to free the ponies. The 2L boxer is also known for strong internals so with a decent turbo you can make plenty of rear wheel power in the Toyota.
I understand that, but the AWD/RWD was supposed to be the ONLY mechanical difference between the two. The fact that the Subaru is getting a better engine as well makes no sense. There has to be TRD supercharger kit or something available to make up for this.
The whole reason behind Subaru having its own version of the FT-86 is so they can utilise the AWD layout that is present in every Subaru. Two companies selling the same car with the same RWD wouldn’t make sense.
Over at Toyota there has to be a TRD version or something in the works - there’s no way that Toyota would let Subie out-do them with their own car.
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Posted on
02.2.2010 @ 21:54