As we still wait for the first sign of Fiat’s 124 Spider, a new report / rumor now says that the Mazda MX-5 platform will be also used for the next generation of the Toyota/Subaru twins, the GT86 and BRZ.
The deal between FCA and Mazda has been reportedly finalized and the outcome will be a Fiat-branded two-seat roadster which will use the chassis from the new Mazda MX5, with the Italian company to install its own powertrains and design an entirely new body for it.
Take this with a few grains of salt, but according Australia’s Motoring, Toyota has been examining the possibility of using the MX-5’s chassis for the GT86 successor with rumors saying that the Japanese company has already tested it.
The same report says that the next GT86 will use a more compact and lighter platform with power coming probably from a downsized turbocharged engine, so the rumors might prove solid.
After all, President Akio Toyoda is personally backing the GT86 successor while we are still waiting for the first evidence of Toyota’s notorious sub-GT86 RWD sports car as a source also said that the company is in the final stages of completing its chassis. This is also why the decision about using or not the MX5 platform is still pending – always according to the report.
Mazda and Toyota have already agreed in mutually sharing their technologies, with the first allowing the use of its Skyactiv engines and the second to share its plug-in hybrid and fuel cell tech.
It certainly doesn’t make much financial sense for Toyota to use Mazda’s platform since they are developing one of their own, but we have to wait until we find out more about their alleged new baby sports car in order to better understand what’s going on.
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