Two different Japanese sources have reported that Toyota and Subaru will join forces on the development of a modern-day AE86 'Sprinter'

Asahi Shimbun newspaper and Best Car magazine recently speculated that Toyota and Subaru would work together on a new rear-wheel drive (‘RWD’) sports car, set for Japanese domestic market introduction around 2010.

The reports were picked up by automotive enthusiasts’ website, Autoblog.com and cited as evidence that Toyota would develop this vehicle as a spiritual successor to the AE86 Corolla Sprinter.

Information available to the Carsales Network from a Toyota spokesperson contradicts the reports, suggesting that Toyota and Subaru’s global cooperation will extend no further than Toyota providing Subaru with hybrid technology in exchange for Subaru’s additional production capacity in the US. There was no confirmation that the two companies would work together on an RWD sports car.

All the same, the rumour is alluring. Toyota hasn’t had an overtly sporting car like the Celica or MR2 in its range for quite a while now, so the time is certainly nigh for a modern interpretation of the AE86 model Corolla Sprinter (which was known as the Toyota Trueno in some markets).

Toyota recently confirmed that the company had set up a committee to investigate building ‘interesting cars’. The rumours about the neo-Sprinter have gained strength from this news, since a modern version would certainly be ‘interesting’.

Drifting is a very popular sport in Japan and is gaining momentum in the US and Australia, so a modern incarnation of the Corolla Sprinter could be easy to promote and would be welcomed with open arms by the drifting fraternity.

At the end of day though, we’re not expecting a new car along those lines to happen. Toyota has enough parts in its own bin to build such a car, without rousing Subaru.

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