What's Going on Between Toyota and Subaru on the Convertible Version of the GT-86/FR-S/BRZ?

Doesn't it strike you as odd that Toyota would go gone into all that trouble creating multiple editions of the FT-86 Open concept in both left and right drive, if it has no plans to build a convertible edition out of its Scion FR-S and Toyota GT 86 models?

Yet, that's precisely what Subaru brand chief Yasuyuki Yoshinaga is claiming. Speaking to Autonews on the sidelines of the ongoing 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, Yoshinaga said that there won't be a convertible version of any of the cars as they would require a complete re-make to meet safety standards.

"We make the car, so if we don't make it, it can't happen," Yoshinaga said in Tokyo. "Our engineering department told me that losing the entire roof requires a complete redesign of the structure. It would need a big change."

While not mentioned in the report from Autonews, we do remember that when Toyota first showed the white FT-86 Open concept in Geneva earlier this year, it said the exact opposite of what Yoshinaga claimed, and we quote Toyota Europe President Didier Leroy:

"I know you are all wondering about facts and figures, and body rigidity. Well, we have the same worries and Tada [chief engineer of the GT 86] and his team are deep into analysis. But GT86 was designed from the start as a cabriolet… That probably tells you all you needed to know." Apparently not…

Yoshinaga added that while he feels for Toyota, an open-top model just won't happen.

"I understand well that Toyota is receiving strong requests from the American market for the car," he said. "But the biggest challenge is meeting our internal safety standards. There are big technical difficulties."

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Subaru Cross Sport Concept Has a BRZ Shooting Brake Flair to it [w/Video]

The funny thing about Subaru's presence at the ongoing Tokyo Motor Show is that, the concept it provided close to zero information about, is the one gathering most of the attention from the press.

Yes, we're talking about the Cross Sport Concept, which everyone believes is likely loosely based on the BRZ sports coupe, even though Subaru has said nothing of the sort.

In fact, the only tidbits revealed about the car, which resembles a BRZ modeled after a shooting brake and a crossover, is that it measures 4.3 meters or about 169 inches long and weighs in at a little over 2,700 pounds (~1,230 kg).

If it is indeed built around the BRZ, would you consider it a worthwhile addition to the range? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

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Subaru Reality Checker: Concepts vs. Production Cars

Let me tell you, when it became clear that the 2015 Subaru WRX photos circulating around the net were real, my first reaction was to chuckle and shake my head (that, and saying to myself, "oh, Subaru…" in a South Park "oh, Butters…" kind of way). I had the same reaction when Subaru presented its LA Auto Show Legacy Concept earlier this week.

Why, you ask? Well, more or less for the same reasons, as in regards to the WRX, this year's impressive NY Auto Show sports concept remains freshly imprinted in my mind, while in the second case, because I imagined how the production Legacy would look like (Josh Byrnes did more than that).

To be fair, Subaru isn't the only automaker presenting over-the-top, and sometimes, even cool looking studies, supposedly previewing production cars only to heavily disappoint when the time comes to introduce these models in dealerships. We've seen this scenario play out numerous times in the past and will continue to do so in the future, but for a company like Subaru that tends to think differently in many other areas, one expects more, and not more of the same in this department.

And yes, I do understand that Subaru was never a brand of the likes of Alfa Romeo or even a Fiat when it came to design, with the Japanese carmaker mostly treading between outright quirky and unreservedly boring, but some of its latest concepts received very positive reactions, and it's a shame that it never really followed through.

In other words, when Subaru states that the Legacy concept "provides a look at the styling cues for future Legacy models", to see what it really means, all you have to do is check out its recent prototypes that promised the same and compare them to the production cars they ended up inspiring.

As always, we're open to your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below the virtual jump.

Concepts and production cars shown below include the WRX, Impreza and BRZ concept. You could say that the BRZ study is the only one that came close to the production car.

By John Halas

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SUBARU LEGACY CONCEPT