New Toyota/Subaru Sports Coupes May Get Toyota Platform

Toyota Motor Corp. and Subaru Inc. may move from the current Subaru chassis to a Toyota architecture for second-generation versions of their co-developed sports coupes, Subaru sources tell Australia’s Carsales.com.

Launched in 2011, the current Subaru BRZ (pictured) and Toyota GT86 (initially called the Scion FR-S in the U.S.) are rear-wheel-drive cars that ride on a heavily modified version of Subaru’s previous-generation all-wheel-drive platform.

Subaru’s new all-wheel-drive global platform can’t support rwd architectures. As a result, the next-generation GT84 and BRZ will either have to continue to use their aging current Subaru platform or move to Toyota’s New Global Architecture (TNGA) to maintain a rwd configuration, according to the report.

Toyota is using the flexible TNGA system for a variety of front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive models, among them the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid car and Highlander crossover.

Last month, Toyota confirmed it is developing a new GT86. No timetable was provided, but previous reports have suggested the car could bow by early next decade. Carsales says the development of the Subaru model is “well under way.”