Last week it was reported that the upcoming Toyota-Subaru (Toyobaru) rear-wheel-drive coupes had been put on hold. According to PR sources in Japan those reports are false and the coupes are still on track for a 2011 launch.
The joint collaboration between Toyota and Subaru is going to yield a coupe for each brand that will use a Subaru platform that will be converted to RWD. The car's will also feature Subaru's 2.0L boxer engine. The coupes will have different styling.
It was originally planned that the coupes would be built by Subaru at a new plant in Oizumi, but the current economic crisis mean that the cars will be built at Subaru's long-serving Gunma main plant.
Full Story: InsideLine
Related Stories:
Subaru-Toyota RWD Coupe Put on Hold
Comments (23)
Great, I'm not going to bother listening to rumors on this site anymore.
Posted by gm0n3y | March 2, 2009 11:55 AM
Posted on March 2, 2009 11:55
Everyone in the other thread that said that they "would have bought one," better man up and buy one now.
Posted by big_whiney_baby | March 2, 2009 12:18 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 12:18
Wooo Hoo! My bank account is safe! I merely said I thought it was 'interesting.'
Man, gotta tread carefully around here, or wind up with a garage full of cars. ;)
Posted by kw | March 2, 2009 12:38 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 12:38
This is good news. It would of been a shame to see yet another great looking RWD coupe go to waste like that.
Posted by 426Hemi | March 2, 2009 12:51 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 12:51
I don't remember if I said I would have purchased one, but I most likely will....although the use of the 2.0 motor troubles me. Hopefully the US gets the 2.5 turbo from the WRX, if it doesn't it may sway my decision towards a different car (maybe honda starts up the next gen s2000 again). Too bad this won't be a targa top.
Posted by thetruth | March 2, 2009 4:01 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 16:01
Hopefully they can hurry it up to force Hyundai to either drop the weight or the price of the Genesis. I may just have to hang on to my Integra another year...
Posted by Gary | March 2, 2009 4:48 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 16:48
Why is Subaru making a RWD only coupe? Wouldn't it make sense to go for the sAWD?
Posted by Trinity | March 2, 2009 5:14 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 17:14
@ Gary,
Have you watched the video review of the V-6 Genesis coupe on youtube?
How PATHETIC is that 0-60mph time? So much for Mustang GT / Z competitor...
Posted by Noya | March 2, 2009 5:55 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 17:55
Thanks for the tip on the video Noya, but I thought the performance was ok, the price close to 30k was a bit disappointing though.
This ride is slated to be NA so I would expect a screamer here. As for AWD it's pricey and heavy at same time taking all the fun out of driving.
Posted by RX-7 Guy | March 2, 2009 6:42 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 18:42
@ Noya
now i know youre talking about the edmunds one 0-60 6.4, now go to goole type in genesis coupe test then look for the motor trend article. They got a 5.5 and quarter mile in 14.0 Just goes to show those edmunds insideline guys are horrible horrible drivers
Posted by Luis R | March 2, 2009 7:13 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 19:13
And this is on the top of my list of cars when for to buy next year.
Posted by Luis R | March 2, 2009 7:15 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 19:15
It isn't that Edmunds InsideLine drivers are horrible at their profession... it is that they are publishing 0-60 times that the average driver should expect to get. They are probably just mashing the pedal to the floor and recording what they got.
MotorTrend, I'm sure, tries various car-launching techniques to figure out which one is best for the car they are reviewing. Go floor any of Edmunds cars... you'll get their times. Learn the right technique for your car and you will get MotorTrend's times.
Edmunds is for the car shopper. MotorTrend is for the car enthusiast.
Anyway, looks like a sweet ride... hopefully it has some decent performance and not just looks and RWD.
Posted by Joan of Arc | March 2, 2009 9:09 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 21:09
@Joan of Arc
Anyone looking for a RWD 300hp sports coupe , is going to try to figure out the best way to launch their car
Posted by Luis R | March 2, 2009 9:17 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 21:17
Great news. I like how the boxer engine sounds. Competition is good for automakers. Then Chevy will make a new SS Cobalt having RWD to compete, Dodge will make a better SRT-4 to fight back, and Ford will finally bring their FWD Focus RS to the States!! Honda will make a RWD coupe for a change and Nissan will bring in their next generation 240. Maybe I'm asking too much...
Posted by vtfo0lio | March 2, 2009 9:36 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 21:36
@vtfo0lio
RWD and honda yeah right. Next thing ford will use IRS. And Chevy isnt going to make a RWD cobalt anytime soon. they are killing the cobalt next year. They dont have a performance division any more because of the stupid bailout. Honda is going to indroduce a 2010 civic si with 206 hp to compete with the new cars! LOL
Posted by muscleoverrice | March 2, 2009 9:45 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 21:45
@muscleoverrice
I'm a Honda fan but what you just told me is flat out sad....
Posted by vtfo0lio | March 2, 2009 10:11 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 22:11
@vtfo0lio:
whats the last sports car that Honda made? The NSX, and they havent done anything great since.. The Civic Si is not competitive in the Sport compact segment, 190hp isnt enough. The RSX was great, but barely faster than the Celica Gt-s, and got its ass handed to it by the SI in sales, so they killed it. Sure you can turbo it a k20 but then you have torque steer major under steer and youre still slower than a Cobalt SS, MS3, and WRX.
Posted by muscleoverrice | March 2, 2009 11:04 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 23:04
Edmunds/Car & Driver always post crappy 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. Motor Trend and Road & Track always post faster.
Posted by Ravicai | March 2, 2009 11:22 PM
Posted on March 2, 2009 23:22
@muscle
Well there is the S2000, but that's really in it's own market.
Well actually 190+hp would be fine for a sport compact car, if the car wasn't a weighed down slug. The Civic Si went all wrong about the time they stopped using the B16 engine setup...
I don't particularly like Honda's, but I agree that neither them nor Toyota have made an interesting "sports" car in almost a decade.
Posted by Brian | March 3, 2009 6:09 AM
Posted on March 3, 2009 06:09
@muscleoverrice
What about the S2000....seems you're forgetting that Honda did have a RWD sports car. If driven hard it returned pretty good performance as well. Killing the next gen model due to the weak economy probably means that once things turn around we'll see a new s2000 arrive.
@ Luis R
Plenty of people with 300hp cars care little about launching. For highly tuned enthusiast cars, probably, but the average mustang GT, SRT, BMW 330 or better, Infinity G.....most of them just like having a car that is fun to drive. Tons of luxo coupes actually fall into this category, and I'd bet a very minimal amount of people actually care about who they can/can't beat off the line.
Posted by thetruth | March 3, 2009 6:17 AM
Posted on March 3, 2009 06:17
The S2000 was way to expensive! 35k for 220hp, ppl bought it just because it was a honda. Vtech bitch lol.
Posted by muscleoverrice | March 3, 2009 7:31 AM
Posted on March 3, 2009 07:31
Hey, hey now...relax. I have an s2000. Its 240hp by the way.
Posted by vtfo0lio | March 4, 2009 12:24 AM
Posted on March 4, 2009 00:24
2011 launch?? meaning coming out in mid 2010 or sometime in 2011??
if they don't kill it like they kill supra, i'm buying one for sure!!
Posted by joe0129 | March 9, 2009 12:38 PM
Posted on March 9, 2009 12:38