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Subaru teases its half of the Toyobaru partnership

We knew that we'd eventually see a Subaru sister to the upcoming Toyota FT-86, but it appears we'll be seeing it as early as Geneva.

Antuan Goodwin Reviews Editor / Cars
Antuan Goodwin gained his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway and picking up speeding tickets. From drivetrain tech and electrification to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.
Expertise Reviewing cars and car technology since 2008 focusing on electrification, driver assistance and infotainment Credentials
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Antuan Goodwin

We knew that we'd eventually see a Subaru sister to the upcoming Toyota FT-86, but it appears we'll be seeing it as early as Geneva.
We knew that we'd eventually see a Subaru sister to the upcoming Toyota FT-86, but it appears we'll be seeing it as early as Geneva. Subaru

We've been keeping a close eye on the development of the Toyota FT-86 concept, mostly because we're excited at what could be the first small, sporty Toyota (or Scion) since the Celica took a trip to the chopping block in 2006*. However, we've also been peripherally aware that Toyota's development partnership with Subaru--provider of the 86's Boxer four-cylinder engine--meant that we'd eventually see a Subaru variant of the sports coupe. It now appears that we won't have to wait much longer, as Subaru has recently launched a teaser site for its "Boxer sports car architecture," which will be detailed at the 2011 Geneva auto show.

According to the info on Subaru's microsite, the Boxer sports car architecture will retain the FT-86's front-engined, rear-wheel drive layout, rather than the all-wheel-drive configuration that we'd speculated would differentiate it from the Toyota. The automaker emphasizes on-road performance in its release, seemingly wanting to differentiate the vehicle that will eventually use this platform from the rough and rugged, rally-bred image that the Impreza and WRX models have carefully cultivated over the years.

We'll bring you all of the details that Subaru releases as our coverage of the 2011 International Motor Show in Geneva continues.

*Yes, we're aware that the last RWD Celica was the 1985 model and that the FT-86 is a spiritual successor to the Toyota Corolla Sprinter (AE86) that was last built in 1987, but bear with us.