Toyota Primed for Next-Generation GT86

Toyota Motor Co. is finalizing plans for a second-generation version of the GT86 sports car it co-developed with Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries Inc.

"The GT86 will carry on,” Karl Schlicht, who heads Toyota's European operations, tells Autocar. Declaring that the rear-drive coupe serves a “big purpose,” he says Toyota is poised to make a decision on the next one, then will assign a chief engineer to the program.

Schlicht says he doesn’t know if the car will be done in partnership with Subaru again. But he notes there are “a lot of reasons to continue” the relationship. Subaru’s low-profile 2.0-liter 4-cylinder “boxer” engine is a key part of the current model.

The first-generation Toyota 86 (initially marketed as the Scion FR-S in the U.S.) and its Subaru BRZ twin were launched in early 2012. Autocar suggest that the second-generation models could bow before the end of the decade.