Subaru BRZ Concept Rumored to Debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show

If we are to believe to a new report from Car&Driver - and we have no reason not to, Subaru will finally lift the veil off a concept version of the BRZ sports coupe with actual sheetmetal at the upcoming 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show in mid-November.

And unlike the BRZ's sister model from Toyota, Subaru won't be showing another concept as both the BRZ and FT-86 (we're still not sure about the name), will be making their world premiere in final production trim at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show in December.

Citing inside sources, C&D says that Subaru and Toyota had an agreement not to show "a single production body panel" if any car until their debut at the Tokyo event, which explains why the Toyota FT-86 Concept I, II, and G Sports, as well as the more recent Scion FR-S, looked different.

But it’s not all good news as the magazine reports that the final production Toyota FT-86 (global model) and the Scion FR-S (only for North America) will be identical twins sans the badges and equipment levels, while difference with the Subaru BRZ (global model) will be limited to the front fascia.

The development of the rear-wheel drive sports car's powertrain and chassis was handled by Subaru, which will also build the cars at its Gunma facility in Japan, starting from next spring. Toyota, on the other hand, took over the styling aspect.

A Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter boxer four featuring Toyota’s port-and-direct-injection system, believed to produce around 200-ponies, will power all three cars.

Finally, power will be transferred exclusively to the rear wheels (there won't be an AWD version for the Subaru) through a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.

Story sources: Car&Driver via Worldcarfans

Rumors: New Lexus LFA Special coming to Tokyo Show while Toyota is Working on a Supra Successor

After losing ground globally to its main competitors, Toyota is on the offensive again. Not only are its plants starting to operate near their maximum capacity, it has also formulated a new strategy to recover as quickly as possible.

However, bread-and-butter models are not the only vehicles the Japanese automaker has in store for us. According to CAR Magazine, Lexus will launch a Tokyo Motor Show Edition of its LFA supercar at its home motor show in autumn.

This edition of the LFA, the second after the Nürburgring special, will sport an unpainted carbon roof and rear spoiler and will cost around €40,000 (US$54,500) more than the “normal” production model.

Meanwhile, the proposed open-top version of the Lexus LFA will not make it past the drawing board due to the current global economic climate.

Coming a little down to earth, Toyota is readying a successor to the Supra coupe of the ‘90s. Although the company has officially denied such a project even exists, the same sources insist that an unsanctioned RWD sports car is currently under development.

Toyota, which has abandoned the sports car segment for quite some time to focus on hybrids, is also said to be working on a front-wheel drive performance car that is expected to be a GTI-rivaling version of the CT200h hatchback.

Perhaps the biggest news, however, is that Japan’s number one car maker is contemplating moving away from naturally-aspirated, high-revving engines and follow the downsizing trend, adopting turbocharged units for its sports models.

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