The upcoming second generation of Toyota 86 might move to a new platform.

Last February, we learned that Toyota would not be killing off the 86 upon the Supra’s arrival as was originally expected. Instead, the Toyota 86 would live on for at least one more generation and sit below the Supra as an entry-level sports coupe.

The second-gen vehicle would still be made with the help of Subaru, who would likely still supply the engine, but the chassis was still a bit of a mystery.

The current Toyota 86 (and its sister car, the Subaru BRZ) uses a heavily modified version of the Subaru Impreza chassis. Moving to the next iteration might mean that the 86 retains that Impreza chassis, but it might also move to a Toyota platform instead.

According to Subaru insiders speaking with Motoring, the other option is to move the 86 to Toyota’s New Global Architecture (TNGA), the same one that underpins the Corolla, Camry, RAV4, Prius, C-HR, Highlander, Avalon, Lexus LC, Lexus LS, Lexus ES, and many, many more.

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The benefit to the TNGA platform would be an overall reduction in weight as well as an increase in torsional rigidity--two things that a sports car always wants to have. It would also save on costs as neither Toyota nor Subaru would need to create a new chassis.

One thing the 86 certainly won’t have is a Subaru’s Global Platform, the reason being is that Subaru’s platform is designed to support all-wheel-drive and converting it to rear-wheel-drive would be a costly and time-consuming process.

We still don’t have any information on the 86’s engine, although rumors say that it might adopt the 2.4-L turbocharged engine from the Subaru Ascent. Currently, the 86 enjoys a 2.0-L naturally aspirated 4-cylinder with 205 hp and 156 lb-ft of torque.

Expect the second generation of Toyota 86 to arrive sometime in 2021.

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