No, Subaru is not developing a Legacy coupe. (Seriously, how many people would actually buy that?) So what’s really underneath the camouflaging body panels in these photos? A new rear-wheel-drive sports car, that’s what.
Yup, look closely at the short wheelbase and the driver’s low-slung seating position—which we can only describe as pimpin’—and the Legacy camouflage is easy to peel away.
So what are Subaru pieces doing covering a sports-car chassis? And is that even a Subaru beneath that Subaru disguise? Well, we have on relatively good authority that this is a mule for the recently confirmed rear-wheel-drive sports car that is being jointly developed by Subaru and its new best friend Toyota, which we covered in a recent report on the new joint venture between the automakers. The car is said to be equipped with a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine with 220 horsepower or so, to be set rather far back in the chassis for a more front-mid arrangement, which provides more optimal weight distribution. This could be a rather fun little thing, we’re starting to think. Catch our, uh, drift?
The sports car will be one of the first products to come out of the new partnership between the two companies. And it’s a good match for each, as both manufacturers suffer from a lack of credible, image-boosting sports cars in their lineup. Toyota, which at one point offered three sports cars (MR2, Celica, and Supra), now has none. Subaru has the WRX STI, of course, but sporty as it is, it’s no sports car. Both Toyota and Subaru are expected to sell versions in the U.S., but it's unclear whether it will be launched as a coupe only, or if a convertible could be included as well. An all-wheel-drive model that could give the Audi TT a run for its fun is also a very real possibility for the Subaru version.
As for the cost of such a fun little plaything, a base price of around $20,000 wouldn’t surprise us when it goes on sale in 2011.
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