http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsAr...llCars/248971/

Toyota ups price of the FT-86
21 April 2010

Ballooning development costs will result in a more expensive Toyota FT-86 when it arrives late next year, according to an insider close to Toyota.

When the concept was unveiled at last year’s Tokyo motor show, a Toyota engineer said that the company was aiming for an entry-level price in Japan of around £13,000.

See pictures of the Toyota FT-86

But the R&D team is now more focused on minimising fuel consumption and producing the cleanest engine possible; the Subaru boxer engine planned for the car is not considered to be that clean or fuel-efficient. That could force the Japanese price up to around £15,000, with the range-topper costing £17,000.

The hike in the cost moves the FT-86 further away from the original concept of a cheap, entry-level sports car and will no doubt be a disappointment to the people within Toyota who fought hard to get the project approved by bosses.

The car is also likely to be marketed to older buyers than originally planned, too. The head of Toyota’s newly created sports vehicle department, Tetsuya Tada, told Autocar that his team had increased the target age group by 10 years, from the 30s to 40s, after market research revealed that fewer younger buyers would opt for the sleek coupé than first thought.

 

Thing is, if they bump the price but keep power at 200 hp, they're going to be fighting the V6 Mustang and Camaro and 2.0T Genesis for buyers in that price range (mid-$20K). It'll have to be awfully light to keep up with the first two.

If they could do 225 hp in the base model and 270+ hp in the top model, I think they'd have a lot better case. Light and quick with moderate power will trump heavy and very powerful for me and, hopefully, a lot of other buyers.

 

Sounds like someone decided to start messing with a good idea - The whole point of this car (and Toyota buying Subaru shares) was to utilize Subaru's engines, was it not? And now they are raising the price and the styling for "older" folks.... pretty soon we'll have a Toyota Aztek FT-86.

 

Just as I afraid, the LFA-titis is spreading onto other cars in Toyota's line up. The days of Toyota being a value driven mfr are over.

 

I don't think this is so much Toyota wanting to raise the price as it's just realistic that you aren't going to get that much car for as little as the original rumors suggested. That may be a problem for Toyota since they haven't managed expectations well.

 

The 2.5i engines in the Forester/Legacy/Outback are available with PZEV/SULEV ratings.

So wtf?

I bet someone at Toyota has decided "NO FUN OF ANY KIND!", idiotically thinking that making a cool/fun car would be inappropriate at this juncture...

 

So does that mean re-engineering the boxster engine or scrapping it completely?

I loved the idea of the Subby motor (with it's built in line up of NA and Turbo variants).

 

Subaru does have a PZEV or SULEV rating on their cars, but they're still pretty weak when it comes to fuel milage. Granted, all the cars in question are running a constant 50/50 split AWD; putting those same engines in a RWD car may free up some of that parasitic loss.

 

Hey, Toyota totally screwed up the whole idea of the MR2 with the Spyder and put a freaking Corolla engine in it so I guess it would not surprise me if they screw this up too.

But I own a Subaru, and while I like the car, I would not call the enigine cutting edge or super efficient.

 

The original MR2 had a corolla engine too, it was a great car. IMO all 3 generations of the MR2 were wonderful, but I do concede that the 3rd gen lacked in power considerably. They should have dropped the GTS motor in as at least an option, then it would have been a cheap Lotus Elise.