In October 2013, Toyota->ke88 announced that the convertible version for the GT86 and the Scion FR-S->ke3820 was put on indefinite hold, because apparently such a car has no place in Toyota’s plans in the near future. This decision was pretty surprising to us, considering that Toyota unveiled the FT86 Open Top Conceptat the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, which made us believe that a convertible GT86/FR-S was just around the corner.
Now, we have new rumors suggesting that Toyota wants the GT86 and FR-S Convertible, but Subaru->ke86 still has no interest in producing it. As a result, Toyota is now investigating the possibility of developing this car on its own, despite Subaru saying before that Toyota could not do so without its help.
Talking about this issue at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, Doug Murtha, vice president for Scion in the U.S., said: "It’s something we’re looking at internally from both a manufacturing standpoint -- where do we build something that’s relatively low-volume, if not at Subaru -- and from an engineering standpoint: Where are those resources going to come from to do it?"
With this in mind Toyota asked all of its dealers and Scion dealers around the world to submit volume targets for such a model. If interest has increased, Toyota could start looking into the possibility of manufacturing open-top GT86 and FR-S models. However, it will be very difficult to do so, considering that currently the GT86, FR-S and the BRZ bodies are all developed at Subaru's plant in Ohta, Japan, and retrofitting a convertible top onto a coupe in any bulk may prove too time-consuming to be profitable for Toyota.
Click past the jump to read more about the possible Toyota GT86 Convertible.
Toyota unveiled the GT86 sports car at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show after two concept versions were unveiled in the previous two years. The model is the result of a collaboration between Subaru and Toyota, and since its official debut, it has enjoyed a good bit of success.
Shortly after the coupe was launched on the market, rumors suggest that a convertible version will follow in a mater of months, but those rumors turned out not to be true.
If built, the GT86 Convertible will be offered with the same engine as the coupe: a 2.0 liter, naturally-aspirated engine with 200 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 151 pound-feet of torque at 6,600 rpm. This engine will be mated to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic transmission.