We know Toyota/Subaru shunned the idea of any kind of forced induction for any hotter versions of the GT86 and its rebadged derivatives, and we also heard rumors that they were going for electric boost, to get the extra kick that so many (motoring journalists) said the standard car lacked.
However, what we didn’t know was that the development work was already in its advanced stages, and that if the green light is given, the engineers already have it figured out.
According to an Autocar magazine report, they apparently plan to mix and match parts from road and racing cars, and create an all new system that would fit the car specifically. The electric motor used in the Yaris Hybrid R concept is a possibility too, it itself sourced from the street-legal Yaris Hybrid model. Thankfully, the manual six-speed gearbox would apparently stay, and that’s good because it’s one of the car’s best features.
Moreover, if the battery pack is positioned low and as close to dead-center as possible within the body shell, they could still Tesla Model S it and keep the great handling. Besides, the weight of the pack can be offset by use of lightweight materials, since they just seem to have started trickling down into production cars too.
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
