Toyota’s GT86, one of the hottest coupes to launch in 2012, is about to get a Mediterranean friendly convertible version. Toyota has spilled the beans on the new cabrio, with a set of detailed and absolutely gorgeous press shots ahead of the Geneva Motor Show.
The concept is dubbed FT-86 Open, but by the look of things it won’t remain a concept car to drool over – it will probably go on sale, as is. Toyota is apparently still mulling serial production, but we have no doubt that it will find plenty of takers if it chooses to launch the Open. In fact, the car practically looks production ready, so Toyota might be just playing hard to get in order to boost interest.
Needless to say, the FT-86 Open shares the same platform and rear wheel drive powertrain, praised by reviewers across the world. It means it should get the same Subaru 2-litre boxer with Toyota’s D-4S injection system, capable of delivering 200bhp and 151lb•ft of torque and a six-speed manual gearbox. There is still no word or performance, but the coupe version can hit 60mph in just 6 seconds, although the cabrio should end up a bit slower (and heavier).
The roof is an automatic, fabric affair, none of that foldable hardtop nonsense, which means it shouldn’t end up too heavy, or lose a ton of boot space with the roof down. Better yet, it looks good, very good. It looks even better than the coupe, a bit more elegant and tame and it should appeal to a wide range of potential customers, including fashionistas, proper petrol heads and ladies, who tend to prefer cabrios over coupes.
Since it is still basically a concept car, although it appears to be production ready, there is no word on pricing or availability. However, the GT-86 coupe starts at £24,995, which sounds like more than a fair price in this segment, so the cabrio shouldn’t end up too pricey, either.
By 2019 shipments of factory installed driver monitoring systems (DMS) with inward facing cameras will reach 6.7 million in number.
