Subaru will build a second generation of the BRZ sports car, which currently shares underpinnings and much of the design with the Toyota GT86 and Scion FR-S, after all. Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), said that Toyota and FHI will jointly develop a follow up to the current generation, which debuted in January 2012.
Yoshinaga told Autonews that it wouldn’t be viable for Subaru to build the car by itself if it weren’t for Toyota’s volume. The executive’s comments came in response to an article on the Australian website Drive, which quoted the car’s chief engineer from Toyota as saying Subaru may not be involved in the next generation.
“If I were to be told that, I’d pass out. It’s not going to be just one generation,” Yoshinaga said.
U.S. sales of the Subaru BRZ through June rose 6 percent to 4,295 units, while sales of the Scion FR-S fell 24 percent to 7,662. However, in June, both models’ sales suffered double-digit slumps. The second-generation sports cars from Toyota and Subaru are expected to arrive somewhere before 2020.
By Dan Mihalascu
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