There's stronger confirmation that earlier reports of the Toyota 86's demise were premature. Autocar got confirmation from Toyota's European marketing boss that the company is planning a second generation of the 2+2 rear-wheel drive coupe, which is known as the GT86 in Europe, in concert with Subaru.
We presume that holds true for the U.S. as well; Autoblog sought confirmation from Toyota. It jibes with an earlier report in which both automakers refuted a Japanese outlet's assertion that the 86 and the Subaru BRZ would not see successor versions.
Toyota of Europe's Matt Harrison told Autocar the GT86 has been "a successful 'halo' product," adding that the 2020 Supra, which debuted earlier this year in Detroit, isn't meant as a replacement. "They are for different audiences and are different products," he said. "We see a situation where they will sit alongside each other."
The 86 launched as a 2012 model, starting its life as a Scion FR-S and becoming the 86 when Toyota pulled the plug on Scion in 2016. It shares a platform and Subaru's 205-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine and six-speed manual or automatic transmission with the BRZ.
The 86 has never been a particularly hot seller. Sales fell 39.4 percent in 2018 to 4,146 and have continued falling through the first two months of this year, down 29.5 percent to 487. (By comparison, Subaru sold 3,834 BRZs in 2018, down 7.2 percent.) But Toyota reportedly sees sports cars like the 86 as being more important as infusions of emotion to its brand rather than volume sales. It has also signaled a possible third sports car to sit underneath the 86.
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