For those of you out there who are as excited as we are about the FT-86,  head on over to the FT86club forums and check out a bunch of new shots released of the original concept and a bunch of its development art from the creators of this masterpiece; Toyota Europe Design Development!

FT86Club Forums

The senior designer of the FT-86 project Jaromir Cech talks to Autocar UK about the design philosophies and ideals behind the European-designed Toyota concept. Interesting to see the enthusiasm for the concept to go directly into production ‘as-is’ from Toyota Japan’s directors, with the hope of not changing much (if anything) from the concepts exterior look.  Lets hope they can get it past pedestrian safety checks and onto the road!

[Via 86ers]

Jim Lentz, President & Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motor Sales, USA has confirmed (via Digg Dialogg) the FT-86 will be coming to market, at least in the USA, somewhere in the near future.

The video features mostly interview questions on the current Toyota recalls, but at 14:26 a question arises about the future of sports car production at Toyota. To watch the video, head on over to Revision3.

In extra FT-86 news is another nifty feature from those tech-heads at Polyphone Digital.  On display at the Toyota stand at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon is the Toyota FT-86 G’s Sports, which boasts an even sharper exterior and a world-first “GPS-track day” unit co-developed with the creators of the Gran Turismo franchise and automotive technology giant Denso.

So what’s so special about the unit, you ask? From what we’ve learned, you will be able to drive your real FT-86 around a real track — the Nurburgring, for example — and then remove the memory card from your car, plug it into your PS3 unit and either “watch” your lap virtually or race against yourself, as your real car appears as the “ghost car” that you battle against.

The GPS unit was tested in a fully race-prepped Lexus IS F at the Nurburgring last October. If you look closely at the FT-86′s dashboard in previous press photos, you will see an outline of Fuji Speedway, a lap timer and an altimeter — which hints at where Toyota is going with this technology.

Word from inside Toyota is that they plan to roll out the technology on “most” future models, with the first of course being the FT-86 in late 2012. Also, as has been previously reported, the Gran Turismo developers are also working on launching a 3D version of GT5 as soon as 3D TVs become available on the market. We’ve taken a quick demo spin of the 3D version, which looks fantastic in early builds. Of course, that assumes GT5 will ever be finished. Latest intel we have is late summer of this year at the earliest.

Check out the gallery at MotorTrend.

[Thanks, Nye!]

Since Tokyo Auto Salon is happening right now in Japan, we thought a special weekend update was in order!  The boys over at 7TUNE have the scoop on the latest FT-86 devleopment – the FT-86 G Sports Concept. It’s a turbocharged special tuned edition of the ‘revival hachiroku’, the FT-86 Concept. Is this the first time a concept has had its own tuner version before the actual car was released?

Adam from 7TUNE writes:

G’s and Toyota have been kind enough to offer me a closer look at the car so a feature is to follow but for now, let your minds wander over the huge proposition this car represents to the future of the aftermarket tuning industry.

Check the rest of the pics at 7TUNE and the live walk-around video from GT Channel after the jump.

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Alexi posted the latest cover of Option Magazine on his blog. The only think I there is anything that I would like to add to this rendering!  I surely hope the red panda scheme would also be available for the FT-86!

Hit up Nori Yaro to see the larger image!

7TUNE has more saliva inducing details on the gorgeous new FT-86 (Future Toyota 86), and by the looks of things, Toyota designers may have gone a little crazy with the carbon fibre! The attention to detail on this car, coupled with Toyota’s apparent (and somewhat surprising) enthusiasm towards it, make me believe this is one concept we just might see on showroom floors! My sentiments on this car are summed up pretty damn accurately in this quote from the article:

After looking at these pics for the best part of an hour, I really do feel like I am looking at an AE86. They have taken the lines, soul, and concept behind the AE86, thrown it in a blender with a 2011 calendar and this is the result.

The car may not scream ‘I’m a neo-retro remake!!’ like GM’s new Camaro and so many other recent ‘retro’ models do, but it does however give you that subtle feeling of familiarity and attitude that you are really looking at the next-generation of thinking and design that made the original ’86 so damn good. I think this concept really does try to push boundaries with both exterior design and what most people consider ‘normal’ in terms of in-cabin equipment (for example the capacitive touch CD player controls and hexagonal airconditioning vents) but all without getting absolutely outragous or gaudy in the process.

Whatever the outcome of this concept, at the least I hope it gives Toyota a re-invigorated passion to make exciting and groundbreaking sportscars, as well all know it’s been a long time coming for something this radical from the automaker who has brought us so many iconic machines of yesteryear.

Image: Toyota / Car@Nifty

Now, how much more can Toyota do with their marketing campaign of the FT-86? They already stirred up things good by giving us very detailed photos of the FT-86 concept and only half a day later they present us with a video showing the FT-86 concept is already in Gran Turismo 5!  How did they hide that fact so well then?

Make sure to hit that HD button! As you can see the AE86 also makes a cameo at the end of the video and surprisingly it can keep up with the FT-86! Is the boxer-powered FT-86 that slow, or is the FT-86 driver just a bad drifter?

Just one look at this image over at TMR and I knew, at that very moment, I wanted one. TMR writes:

Offering the best look yet at Toyota’s plans for its upcoming entry-level rear-wheel-drive sportscar, the Japanese carmaker has revealed the FT-86 concept ahead of its Tokyo Motor Show debut.

Borrowing styling cues from both the FT-HS concept and the upcoming Lexus LF-A, the FT-86 is likely powered by the same Subaru-sourced 2.0 litre four-cylinder boxer engine expected to power the upcoming ‘O86A’.

Seriously, if the 086A comes out looking identical to this, I’ll have no problems with scooting down to the showroom and driving away in Toyota’s re-emergence into the world of sporty passenger vehicles. Even the super-experimental gundam-esque interior trimmings get the tick of approval in my opinion – zips and all!

Read the rest (including specs!!) over at The Motor Report. Oh, and make sure to make your desires known to Toyota – it’s up to enthusiasts like us to get this project off the ‘maybe’ list and into showrooms!

Heres a quick chop done by HR Blogger (and legit graphic designer) Harley. It looks so awesome with its 18″ Watanabes and ‘panda bumpers’!

It seems the 086A development team has been under pressure recently from Toyota and Subaru to shift the market focus of the car to suit current trends. Again it’s Justin from 7TUNE has more info:

With new reports though it now seems that the specification of the 086A will change slightly once again to meet other criteria, that being the dreaded “eco car” movement and a switch to a much older target market than what was first considered.

This involves apparently power output drop (but apparently more weight reduction too)

We should now expect the 086A’s FJ20 2000cc boxer four to produce 160PS, a good 40PS less than was previously quoted which is all due to stricter economy and emissions targets. Toyota/Subaru haven’t let this dilute the performance as we’re told the car has also lost some weight in order to keep a respectable power to weight ratio.

Not only this but a shift towards providing a car more mass-market friendly with the emphasis on ‘eco-friendlyness’.

The car that will be exibited will include styling cues that could very well be changed before the car goes to production giving show goers the opportunity to express their like or dislike of the design. It goes to show how serious Toyota is about the success of the 086A and the lengths taken to ensure that their development team are well aware of what the market is thinking.

Whatever all this means, one thing is for certian: Toyota/Subaru havn’t yet axed the project so with this shift to an older market, one who contains the older car enthusiasts who bought, or grew up with the original AE86, maybe all this talk is for the better for us AE86 fans? A lesser-powered, more-lightweight FR sportscar with a emphasis on tasteful design: It all sounds good to me so far. I guess all we can do is wait until the still unchanged release date of December 2011.