[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by bkharmony

OK, I’m going to ask a question/pose a thought that I will most certainly regret, but here goes:

Considering that “platform” does not mean “same chassis,” but rather a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components that allows a vehicle to be manufactured on a shared assembly line, is there any possibility the FT86 could be adapted to fit within the new Subaru shared platform for the 2nd gen?

In other words, perhaps the 2nd gen could retain it’s excellent chassis, but everything else could be modified during the re-design to fit within the new platform (the shared tooling, parts, assembly processes).

Short answer would be - Sort of.
The two platforms are very close so the manufacturing could likely be shared. The aspect that would be the most important would be if they could share the same line cradles (what holds the car as it moves and gets assembled). If they do not have to change them over which wastes time and money then most of the other equipment could be programed for any vehicle. Remember the plant that makes the BRZ/86 also makes the Forester and Legacy. They are probably on dedicated lines though and that is what they are trying to do away with by using a global platform.