Toyota doubles stake in Subaru, two working on rwd sportscar for 2011

Toyota doubles stake in Subaru, two working on rwd sportscar for 2011

Toyota will almost double its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, the two Japanese car makes said in a joint press conference Thursday. Toyota will buy 61 million Fuji Heavy Industry shares increasing its stake from 8.7 percent to 16.5.

The two also said that they are working on rear-wheel-drive sportscar to together that is set to go on sale by the end of 2011. Toyota said that it will handle the basic design of the car while Fuji will provide the engine. No other details were given but AutoCar had reported yesterday that a naturally aspirated version of the boxer engine with 175-hp is being considered for the base model, and there is potential for a 2.5 liter turbocharged model later.

Sources say the car is inspired by the classic RWD AE86 Toyota Corolla GT from the 1980s. Design for the car is expected to be finalized by July and production will begin in 2010.

 

Source: The Detroit News and AutoCar

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