7 October 2009

… Toyota debuts green sports car with special engine

Toyota will take a slightly different tack at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show to display a green sports car with a special kind of gasoline engine.

The FT-86, inspired by the Corolla model from the 1980s called AE86, has a Subaru engine from Toyota partner Fuji Heavy Industries, whose pistons are horizontal instead of vertical like they are in standard engines.

Subaru and Porsche SE are among the few automakers in the world making that type of engine, which allows for a quiet drive and a low-sitting mean look that is a trademark for sports cars.

Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said the ruby-red sports car, debuting at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month, will appeal to car enthusiasts who remember the fun-to-drive “spirit of the 86.”

It will cost $33,700 (3 million yen), and it will not be a gas-guzzler, delivering the mileage of an equivalent standard car, he said.