If, like us, you've been racking your brain to figure out how Toyota is possibly going to be able to offer the FT-86 anywhere near its price target, Road & Track may have part of the answer for you. The magazine is reporting that the next-generation Lexus IS will ride on a stretched version of the low-dollar coupe's platform, allowing Toyota to spread the development costs between the two models. With the production version of the FT-86 due in dealerships in 2012, the IS is expected to bow shortly thereafter in 2013.
Of course, this also helps explain some of the IS Coupe rumors we've been hearing recently, too.
An added nugget of goodness in this news is that the next-generation IS may be a sharper car in every way thanks to its shared bloodline with the sporty FT-86. Toyota head honcho Akio Toyoda has already made it clear that he would like to see his company's products return to their sporty roots, and as a result, the new IS should be quite a bit more athletic than its predecessor. Don't expect to see the Subaru-sourced flat four in the nose of the Lexus, though. Chances are the four-door will still get its power from derivatives of the four- and six-cylinder options currently available.
[Source: Road & Track]
Of course, this also helps explain some of the IS Coupe rumors we've been hearing recently, too.
An added nugget of goodness in this news is that the next-generation IS may be a sharper car in every way thanks to its shared bloodline with the sporty FT-86. Toyota head honcho Akio Toyoda has already made it clear that he would like to see his company's products return to their sporty roots, and as a result, the new IS should be quite a bit more athletic than its predecessor. Don't expect to see the Subaru-sourced flat four in the nose of the Lexus, though. Chances are the four-door will still get its power from derivatives of the four- and six-cylinder options currently available.
[Source: Road & Track]
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