Toyota motorsport partner TMG has announced plans to build a rear-wheel-drive rally car based on the Toyota GT 86, the global version of the Scion FR-S. TMG is targeting the FIA’s new R3C rally category, which calls for vehicles with two-wheel drive, normally aspirated engines ranging from 1.6 to 2.0 liters in displacement, and a minimum weight of 1,080 kilograms (2,381 pounds).  

TMG plans to base its rally car on its existing GT 86 CS-V3 endurance racer and expects it to be ready for customer teams by the 2015 motorsport season. Engineers will modify the engine, uprate the brakes, and install a sequential six-speed transmission and limited-slip differential.

Pricing and specifications for TMG’s GT 86 CS-R3 rally car will be announced in the next several months.

There have been reports that Toyota, together with TMG, may make a return to the top WRC category, with a rally car most likely based on the Yaris, which TMG has already developed for the lesser R1A category. However, such a move is likely to be years away still.

“Medium to longer-term there is a degree of logic in the WRC,” a TMG spokesman previously said during the launch of the company’s Global Race Engine. “We have been there [the WRC] and this engine is a step back into rallying.”

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