Only yesterday we read a report that the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ ‘twins’ would not be replaced once their life cycle comes to an end. This struck us as odd, so we decided to investigate.

The good thing with the World Wide Web is that you can get tonnes and tonnes of information. The bad thing is that you can also get tonnes and tonnes of misinformation. Oftentimes, it’s hard to distinguish between the two, and even huge media outlets have, more than once, been duped.

After we talked to Toyota yesterday about whether the 86 was going to be axed, and receiving an immediate reply that this is totally false, we thought we ought to chat with Subaru, too, and find out their plans about the BRZ.

Subaru USA spokesman Ron Kinno’s response was swift and leaves no room for interpretation:

“We do not endorse this report coming from Japan’s Best Car”, he told CarScoops. “We are moving ahead with a next-generation Subaru BRZ, but have no further details at this time.”

This is indeed good news for petrolheads who, due to dwindling demand (and sales), have little choice when it comes to a fun to drive compact sports car. People might cry ‘badge engineering!’ and, for the most part, they are correct, but considering the low sales volumes, as the sports car has also become a victim of SUVs, a joint project is the only way to roll out such a model without losing money.

Kinno’s answer might also hint that Toyota and Subaru will, once again, cooperate on the replacements of their compact coupes. After all, the 86 is manufactured at Subaru’s Gunma assembly plant alongside the BRZ, and it would not make sense for any of the two automakers to develop the next-gen of their model alone.

Will they stick to the flat-four engine? Probably. Will they use a revised version of the current platform? Given the accolades it has amassed, that’s very likely. Will they, at last, fit an engine with more than 200 HP, as their customers want? If the redesign allows for its fitment without ruining the handling balance, we don’t see why not.

When can we expect to see them launch? Can’t answer that one, although we guess they shouldn’t be more than two or three years away.

And for the record, the opening rendering that was made by CarScoops’ own Josh Byrnes a few years back, wasn’t for a BRZ replacement, but for a higher-end sports car aimed at the Nissan GT-R. If you want him to take on the next BRZ now that we know that there will be one, all you have to do is ask…

Photo Rendering Copyright Carscoops / Josh Byrnes

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