You are looking at what is without a doubt the most important car to be exhibited at this year's Tokyo Motorshow. Forget the green eco car theme, this is precisely what the world has been waiting to see from a Japanese manufacturer. The FT-86 perfectly represents a market sector which has practically vanished in the last decade, that of the affordable Japanese sports car. The 80's and 90's in Japan were the hay day of such cars, starting off with the legendary AE86 where the Toyota concept supposedly draws its lineage from. It's a "back-to-basics" kind of car; a simple lightweight 2+2 coupe with a front mounted 4-cylinder engine driving the rear wheels via a manual transmission. Toyota is probably realizing that ignoring its loyal customers that still drive around in AE86s, MR-2s, Celicas and Supras was not a smart move, and the FT-86 is the key to winning back much needed respect from such enthusiasts.

The collaboration with Subaru, Toyota owns around 20% of Fuji Heavy Industries, begins up front with the flat-4 2L motor that will power the production version of the FT-86 when it will eventually hit dealerships across Japan late next year. The boxer engine allows for a low center of gravity, something Toyota is shooting for to achieve a well-balanced car. The naturally aspirated EJ20 used across the Subaru Legacy/Impreza/Exiga line-up develops 150 HP, but for the FT-86 it will be tuned to push out anywhere from 180 to 200 HP. If Toyota can keep curb weight at around 1250 kg, the same as a JDM Civic Type-R, the FT-86 will be a hoot to drive. 

The rear end is somewhat anonymous and simply styled but I'm already picturing it with a big GT-wing! The Japanese tuners will no doubt go crazy with this car!

Toyota probably realized it was on to a winner by the amount of people that were constantly around the FT-86 display area. Curiously enough however, there was no mention of the Toyota-Subaru collaboration on this project, something Subaru must not be too happy with.

Simplicity if the key with the FT-86's design. From this angle you get a nice view of the rear carbon diffuser, but don't be fooled as something like this would never make it on the final production car, which should cost upwards of $25,000.

The FT-86's interior, much like the overall project, leans towards simplicity with a basic yet functional layout.

The dashboard does away with pointless futuristic displays and gadgets helping the driver to stay focused on driving and it's just so refreshing to see a manual gear lever and a clutch pedal in a concept car! Curiously enough the thin slot for the CD/DVD player on the dash can be closed by a zipper, which seems to be quite a theme around the cabin with red zippers appearing next to each of the four main air vents as well as on the seats.

The rear seat space is a little confined but more than acceptable for a car of these dimensions. Sitting behind the wheel revealed a nice driving position with the leather bucket seat sitting nice and low.

All the various controls are smartly arranged around the main dash area meaning the driver never needs to move his hands far from the steering wheel…

…the ones for the A/C on the left and the ones for the lap timer on the right. I liked the LCD screen in the center of the main instrumentation, something that will probably display everything from engine parameters to the navigation maps. Would be cool to see at least some of these details make it to the final production car.

The edgy design makes it look like no other car out there.

You really don't get the idea of just how compact the FT-86 is from pictures. It is 163.78 inches (4160 mm) long, 69.29 inches (1760 mm) wide and 48.19 inches (1260 mm) tall with a wheelbase of 101.18 inches (2570 mm). This makes it more compact than a 370Z for example (even if the Z has a shorter wheelbase), and a little bigger than an S2000.

Is it me or is that roofline and A-pillar 100% Nissan GT-R? The FT hachiroku concept was designed by Toyota's European Design Development studio (ED2) in Nice, France and takes a lot of inspiration from the 2007 FT-HS concept that was shown at the Detroit show. 

The car won't change much aesthetically but you can expect those 19-inch wheels to be somewhat smaller for production. Would be nice to see 17-inch up front and 18-inch at the rear. 

Toyota is on to a winner with this car, and I'm hoping it will be a wake up call for other Japanese manufacturers. As you recall Subaru is thinking on releasing its own version of the FT-86, and maybe Nissan will take notice and bring back the Silvia! These are the cars that will potentially get younger people to enjoy sports cars again, not to mention fuel the next wave of drift cars. I can't wait to get behind the wheel of the production version of the FT-86, be it a Celica or a Corolla or whatever it will end up being called!

-Dino Dalle Carbonare