Welcome back to the rumormill: Toyota developing cheap RWD coupe

Back in March, Winding Road floated the idea that Toyota may be in the process of developing a rear-wheel drive vehicle in the same vein as the Corolla AE86 of the 80s. At the time, it was easy to pass it off as pure speculation. Now, the GTChannel says that its sources in the Land of the Rising Sun have also confirmed that a 2+2, front-engine, RWD vehicle is in the works and that if and when it comes to market its sticker will be "well under [$] 20k" – maybe even $16,000.

Considering that the Scion brand has quickly emerged as a cost-conscious means of stylish transport, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that such a vehicle would slot in nicely within the youth-oriented marque, even if its price would make it a direct competitor to the tC. The only rub is finding a suitable platform to build the new vehicle atop, and the only RWD vehicle that could fit the bill would be the Lexus IS. Granted, the $30,000+ sports sedan's underpinnings might be a bit of a stretch (or shortening, in this case) to make a budget performance car, but the ability to cut costs via platform sharing isn't out of the question. Maybe some of the old IS's architecture could even be used.

In the meantime, we're hoping to see spy shots of a tC-bodied mule making the rounds around the 'Ring, rear-wheels a blazing and powersliding into the Carousel.