Tokyo '09: Toyota to Release First Photos of Subaru Co-Developed Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Coupe this Week

Toyota's version of the much anticipated rear-wheel drive sports coupe that the automaker is developing in conjunction with Subaru will make its world debut as a thinly-veiled concept car at this month's Tokyo Motor Show. And according to our well-placed sources, we're going to get our first glimpse of Toyota's affordable compact sports coupe sometime this week with the release of the first official photos and details.

For those of you wondering why we chose to 'decorate' the article with photos of Toyota's 2007 Detroit Show star, the FT-HS hybrid concept, that's because we've been informed by our source that the RWD Coupe prototype draws heavily upon the styling of that concept model.

But while the FT-HS featured a hybrid drivetrain built around a 3.5-liter V6, Toyota's compact coupe will get a front-mounted, 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine sourced from Subaru sending power to the rear-wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

If we are to take Subaru's official press release on the firm's 2009 Tokyo Motor Show offerings for granted, then we won't be seeing its version of the RWD coupe in Japan this month.

In a previous statement, the two automakers said that the sport coupes will share the same hardware (meaning the Subaru-sourced boxer engine, chassis, suspension etc), but each model will feature a distinct exterior design.

The market launch of both the Toyota and Subaru badged coupes are targeted for the end of 2011, with production set to take place at Subaru's new Gunma plant in Japan.

Even though Toyota has not made any official announcements on the matter, back in 2008, a reliable source here in the States told us that the company plans to sell its variant of the RWD coupe in the U.S. as a Scion essentially replacing the TC. The same source also informed us then that the iQ would head over to the States as a Scion, something that was confirmed with the presentation of the iQ Concept at this year's New York Auto Show in April.

However, bear in mind that these sort of decisions may change over time in response to the different demands of the market.

2007 Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Coupe