Back in November Toyota’s German Chief Markus Schrick confirmed Toyota was working on several new sports cars including a replacement for the Celica, and now Japanese magazines are claiming the new model will arrive as early as next year. The new car is said to be the joint-effort of a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru and it will reportedly be offered in two different variants, a cheaper GT model and a high-performance AWD GT-Four.

The two carmakers have been sharing production facilities and swapping engineers ever since Toyota bought a stake in Subaru early last year and these new sports cars are likely to be the first to be spawned from the partnership. The cheaper GT version is supposed to have a target price of under $20,000, Japan’s Best Car reports, which agree with earlier reports claiming Toyota was working on an affordable successor to the 1980’s AE86. The GT will feature a conventional front-engine RWD layout and will be powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0L Subaru four-cylinder boxer engine.

The more expensive GT-Four, meanwhile, will come with AWD as standard and get the same 300hp turbo four as the Japanese spec Subaru Impreza STI. According to the source, the engine in this car will be positioned closer to the firewall to help improve handling and it could also feature in-wheel electric motors to help traction.

Both cars will come in coupe and three-door hatch bodystyles and will be sourced from Subaru’s Gunma plant in Japan. No five-door hatch will be offered as Toyota and Subaru don’t want to compete with the current Impreza range.

Via: MotorTrend