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Toyota 86 sedan in the works

Reports suggest the Toyota 86 could see it spawn a rear-wheel drive sedan.

Toyota may have halted plans for a convertible based on the bones of its wildly successful 86 sports car, but reports suggest we could see it spawn a rear-wheel drive sedan.

Stories of the possibility bubbled up the this week, most recently from US site Motor Trend, citing an inside source at Toyota in Japan. They suggest the brand is looking at several different models based on its rear-wheel-drive platform jointly developed with Subaru and sold as the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ.

One of the planned models was a convertible based on the FT 86 Open concept, but low projected sales are believed to have stalled the project for now. Another is a shooting brake-style wagon and a third is a sedan, the most likely of the trio to make production. Why? Because it would be relatively unique in the market, especially if priced close to the $29,990 starting price of the 86.

The sedan would appeal to buyers looking for a small sporty car but still needing the practicality of rear doors and seats -- especially those with a family to consider. According to the report, the new sedan’s wheelbase would be about 8cm longer than that of the Toyota 86.

The project would use the 147kW/205 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine as the standard unit, but a hybrid setup is also on the cards from other reports, suggesting a detuned version of the setup featured in Toyota’s recent Yaris Hybrid-R concept, with a single electric motor paired up with the boxer engine.

If the insider's information is accurate, we could see the 86-based rear-wheel-drive sedan launched around the end of 2015, with a price possibly starting in the $30,000-$35,000 region.

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