but the toyota yaris is 2300 lbs and is only 1 ft shorter... what would make it so heavy?

rear differential, drive shaft and rear wheel drive transmission are longer and heavier due to thicker gears that can withstand more trq... that alone i can say +/- 200lbs not bad for 2500lbs, but since this will be a handling car chassis rigidity will be key

http://www.tempests.co.uk/newcarimages/CivicTypeR.jpg


I don't want to buy a Type R. I would if I did. I prefer RWD on a sports car. Just wanted to show that 200 hp doesn't mean heavy weight...

I think the car will be between 2700 and 2900 lbs. The Subaru will weigh more. 2900 lbs is still very light for a modern sports car, especially when the boxer engine will give it such a low center of gravity. Amazing handling front engine cars like the e92 m3 weight well over 3500 lbs. Modern suspension can easily make a 3000 lb car handle better than an older 2500 lb car. With regard to acceleration, a 2500 lb car will obviously be much faster than a 3000 lb car, but 3000 lbs is still light. With a trd sc or something, this car will be very quick.

So wait. Subaru of Japan hasn't even announced it but someone from Subaru of America is saying to a motoring "blog" it's for sure? I'm still not believing it. Doesn't mean it won't happen (because now I'm almost certain it will), but we're still dealing with false information.

Maybe the EK CTR was under 2700 lbs, but the next two gens certainly do not. They hover around both sides of 2800 lbs with the latest one flirting with 2900 lbs.

Stop comparing apples to oranges (i.e. a brand new car with an older car; different layout; etc). It's not going to work.

No one's buying a Yaris to wind the piss out of it and possible slam into a mountain side pretending they're the ultimate Tofu delivery person.

The FT is going to be a sports car. And in this day and age, you don't get to be a successful car company if you sell a sports car that won't protect the owner from itself. Safety equipment and parts bin sharing (to keep costs down) will keep this car from weighing in anywhere close to what everyone here thinks it will be.

Taken.

:happy0180: LOL! You're welcome.

that's not true, many people are buying yaris's and turboing them, and at 2300lbs they are pretty friggin fast with any form of FI; shamefully FWD, but still...it also has 5 star frontal crash rating (well the hatch does anyway) so it's unbelievably safe, unbeknownst to most people...

I highly doubt 2.0L engine, RWD transmission components, and 'safety' will land an extra 600lbs; but perhaps your final point makes sense, parts bin sharing; as well as someones comment about chassis rigidity.

yeah the subaru is kinda hard to believe right now, no formal announcement, no prototype seen on the road or on nur ring and no concept seen yet. all thats fueling the fire is the bloggers that half made up and half just cuz, they are a subaru fans that are hoping for a coupe STI.

I've seen hundreds of Yarises on the road, and I've yet to see a turbo'd one. While it's entirely possible that there are people out there who will turbo a Yaris (I'm sure there are people who will turbo a bar stool, if they can), I'm not sure this is the demographic Toyota had in mind when they designed, engineered, and marketed the Yaris.

The FT-86 may or may not be the same way. While it's possible that Toyota wants to tap into today's young tuner market, it's also possible that they're going to aim it towards the older, lumpier, foggier-visioned 40-year-old tuner market that misses their old AE86.

I should start by saying I'm really excited by Toyota's FT-86. I was raised on Toyota. My parents had a Tercel, a Van, an Avalon, and a 4Runner. My first car (and I do miss it so!) was a '97 Corolla. My sister's first car is a '00 Corolla. And my cousin and I have been bugging my Dad for years to fix up his '75 FJ40 that's been rusting in the garage since he moved to Boston from Colorado.

That said, if Subaru did come up with an AWD version and Toyota didn't, I might just have to buy the Subaru and debadge it on day one. A RWD toy is fun, but it's going to be my daily driver, and winters to tend to suck in New England. Given the assumption that Toyota's not going to come out with much better than a base version, and that they're not going to come up with an AWD version, I'm pretty psyched about the prospects of an STI coupe, too.

How many is "many?"

I'm not disputing some people are doing this, but I'm willing to bet it's an infinitely small number of people in proportion to those who buy the car as a basic means of transportation. The FT is being aimed at the enthusiast. Very different scenario. Especially considering it will be priced within range of those just getting their driving licenses whose parents have more money than brains.

i think it's more likely they spend the same amount of time designing both cars to be as safe as possible...

-Mike

The current gen NC Mazda MX-5 is only 2400-2500 lbs depending upon trim level. Convertibles are also heavier than coupes due to needing more chassis bracing without a fixed roof. So this car can still come in under 2700 lbs no problem, but only if they focus on making it as light as possible which is what Mazda engineers had to do with the NC redesign to keep weight down.