*While realistically done (props to me), the above image is just an MS Paintbrush creation[Caution; a sense of humor required beyond this point] According to the great barrier mill, our friends at Toyota are working it out on a four-door coupe variant of the rear-wheel drive FT-86, which was shown in concept form at last year's Tokyo Motor Engine Salon Show, just outside Japan, south west north of India. The four-door sport saloon will most likely be called WTF-86.
Since we don't take everything we read for granted, we wrote to our man on the other side of the telephone, and he not only confirmed the 2+2 door version, but his mother-in-law also tipped us off about a crossover-convertible variant with a retractable sunroof that will be followed by an extended wheeliebase limousine with seven seats, two chairs, a twin-bed and a hydronuclear suspension sourced from Toyota's European collaborator, Citroen.
Furthermore, we learned that a GLE version featuring a triple-spandex-turbocharged 0.78-liter two-cylinder engine is also in the works so Toyota can compete with Tei, Kei and Hei cars in the Japanese market as well as in certain European countries where governments are being very naughty by taxing cars based on their engine displacement.
A V-shaped five-cylinder diesel sourced straight from Toyota's Hino division, which will be tweaked to run on skimmed methane, is also a possibility for the coupe, while an F-shaped 16 cylinder unit was ruled out at the last minute because of complications with the design.
Re-confirming previously denied rumors, highly placed sources said Toyota will indeed rework the styling of the FT-86 from scratch bringing its design language closer to the upscale European market Aygo, while adding a third, suicide-style door, on the passengers' side for increased visibility and multifuncionality.
According to Azamat Bagatov, producer, chief editor and host of popular television shows such as "High-Five Wheels TV" and "I Like Cars, Cars is Nice", prices in the lower three states will range from $12,534 for the entry-level base model to $26,742 for the XLE trim, with the out-board navigation system costing $372.02.
Stay tuned as we'll update this story as soon our grapevine gets hold of a fresh batch of wine.
By John Halas
Sources: Carguide and FT-86
We saw the first package from the newly sprung partnership between Lumma Design and Top Car back in June when they released a photo shoot featuring the CLR X 650. That venture was not the last we were going to see of this new endeavor. so we sat back and patiently waited for the next vehicle to be presented. Enter the CLR 500 RS2 based off of the new BMW 5-Series and upgraded with both engine and aerodynamic updates.
