Autoblog

At a press conference in Japan today, Toyota CEO Katsuaki Watanabe finally confirmed that his company is jointly developing a pair of rear-wheel-drive sports cars with Subaru. Each brand will get its own version of the car, which will be powered by one of Subaru's boxer engines, though the engine's displacement, power output and even number of cylinders is not yet known. We're also not sure if the Subaru version will feature the brand's trademark all-wheel-drive system either as an option or standard equipment, or whether Toyota might offer AWD as well in an homage to the Celica GT4 (we hope so!). The styling will most likely resemble the sketch that was published by Autocar yesterday, though we don't expect one car to be a rebadged version of the other. Mark your calendars for 2011, which is when the new sports cars are scheduled to arrive. They'll be riding on a brand new platform and be built in Japan at a new plant by Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru. Toyota also confirmed rumors this morning that it will be buying up more of Fuji, raising its stake in the company from 8.7% to 16.5%.

These RWD sports cars will mean a lot for both companies, as Subaru hasn't offered a performance coupe since the slightly odd SVX, and Toyota all but abandoned performance models after the Supra, Celica and MR2 were cancelled.

[Source: Automotive News, Autocar]

Emerging reports indicate that Toyota is preparing to nearly double its stake in Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries. Toyota initially bought into Fuji when that other automotive giant, General Motors, sold its 8.7% stake to its Japanese rival. The new share-grab, the door to which was opened by revised Japanese laws, would bring Toyota's partial ownership of Fuji up to 17%, just short of double its current stake.

Since Toyota's buy-in of Fuji, cooperation between the two companies has only increased, ranging from new product development to manufacturing. Insiders predict that with the increased stake will come even more integrated collaboration between the two Japanese automakers, which, considering Toyota's enormous success worldwide, can only mean good things for Subaru's operations.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that with Toyota reportedly considering following Honda into the sky, Fuji's other core business in aerospace could prove an invaluable asset.

[Source: Indianapolis Business Journal via Straightline]

In an effor to expand its European offerings and meet tighter emissions requirements, Subaru has made a deal with Toyota to re-badge as many as 10,000 small cars. Partly owned by Toyota, Subaru will sell slightly modified Daihatsu (a Toyota subsidiary) Sirions (also known as the Daihatsu Boon in Japan and the Toyota Passo) in Europe. The small Subes could be on sale as early as later this year. No word yet on what the new variant will be called and we aren't holding our breath for a high-horsepower rally version any time soon.

[Source: AP via Yahoo]