With Toyota having all but confirmed the Toyota 86 convertible for production, Subaru says it still hasn’t decided whether or not it will do a similar body style with its sister car, the Subaru BRZ.
Speaking to CarAdvice at the Geneva Motor Show, the president and CEO of Fuju Heavy Industry (the parent company of Subaru), Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, said that no decision on a BRZ convertible has yet been made by Subaru.
The Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ, which were developed jointly by the two brands and make use of a Subaru boxer engine, have been on the receiving end of dozens of awards last year, including numerous car of the year titles.
Speculation about a convertible version of the 86 had been circulation since the coupe version was introduced and the unveiling of a near production ready concept convertible at the Geneva Motor Show yesterday was good news for 86 fans.
The 86/BRZ project was mainly funded by Toyota, which has left the Big T in a more dominant position on how the two cars are marketed and sold internationally. In Australia, Subaru brought just 200 BRZs to the market last year while Toyota managed to sell 2,047 despite severe stock limitations.
That number is likely to quadruple this year with Toyota having already sold 1,167 Toyota 86s in the first two months of 2013 (Subaru sold 178 BRZs during the same period).
Yoshinaga confirmed that the Toyota 86 convertible concept was solely done by Toyota, without Subaru’s assistance. Nonetheless, he admitted that Subaru would not require Toyota’s permission if it decided to produce a convertible version of the BRZ.
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