Photo: Catalin Garmacea/autoevolution
It was 2012 when the eagerly anticipated Toyobaru project finally hit the market. And with the Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ now approaching the end of their life cycle, the time has come to discuss the second generation.
Now that the Scion brand, which offered the FR-S incarnation of the sportscar, has been put to sleep, we have a pair of unidentical twins to discuss. And, according to a report coming from Japan Times, the carmakers are working on a displacement increase for the boxer engine of the rear-wheel-drive coupe.
The four-cylinder should see its capacity jumping from 2,000 to 2,400cc, with the boxer configuration maintaining a lower center of gravity. Of course, the horsepower and torque boost associated with this grabs plenty of attention. After all, the mid-cycle revamp of the car only delivered a modest 5 hp boost, bringing the total output to 205 ponies.
However, we're hoping the engineers will change the character of the engine, since it's current incarnation doesn't feel particularly fit for a sportscar, regardless of its max muscle.
We'll remind you that the rumor mill also talks about the next Hachi-roku (this is a reference to the Toyobaru paying homage to the Toyota AE86) using a modified version of the ND Mazda Miata's platform.
On the one hand, that would be a pity, since competition is always welcome and such a move would inevitably bring the cars closer together.
On the other hand, the all-new uber-light chassis of the Mazda could benefit from a different tune, one that wouldn't involve the hefty role that's part of the Miata philosophy.
However, we wouldn't pay too much attention to such rumors - for one thing, the Miata is a two-seater, while the 86 prides itself on being the world's smallest four-seater coupe.
Moreover, Toyota is rumored to bring back the glory of its 90s sportscar lineup, which included the uber-compact MR2, the Celica middle child and the Supra daddy.
And now that the Japanese carmaker's BMW collaboration is bringing back the Supra, a Mazda tie-up would be more likely to spawn the rumored MR2 comeback rather than the next-gen 86.
The four-cylinder should see its capacity jumping from 2,000 to 2,400cc, with the boxer configuration maintaining a lower center of gravity. Of course, the horsepower and torque boost associated with this grabs plenty of attention. After all, the mid-cycle revamp of the car only delivered a modest 5 hp boost, bringing the total output to 205 ponies.
However, we're hoping the engineers will change the character of the engine, since it's current incarnation doesn't feel particularly fit for a sportscar, regardless of its max muscle.
We'll remind you that the rumor mill also talks about the next Hachi-roku (this is a reference to the Toyobaru paying homage to the Toyota AE86) using a modified version of the ND Mazda Miata's platform.
On the one hand, that would be a pity, since competition is always welcome and such a move would inevitably bring the cars closer together.
On the other hand, the all-new uber-light chassis of the Mazda could benefit from a different tune, one that wouldn't involve the hefty role that's part of the Miata philosophy.
However, we wouldn't pay too much attention to such rumors - for one thing, the Miata is a two-seater, while the 86 prides itself on being the world's smallest four-seater coupe.
Moreover, Toyota is rumored to bring back the glory of its 90s sportscar lineup, which included the uber-compact MR2, the Celica middle child and the Supra daddy.
And now that the Japanese carmaker's BMW collaboration is bringing back the Supra, a Mazda tie-up would be more likely to spawn the rumored MR2 comeback rather than the next-gen 86.
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