It has been four years since Toyota dropped the much-loved Celica, after which the company went on to establish itself as the flag bearer for en vogue eco-conscious hatchback-ery.

But that's about to change, as Toyota will unveil a concept called the FT-86 at the Tokyo Motor Show. Obviously it will share the stage with a green concept or two (the plug-in Prius and a new electric car called the FT-EV II that's shorter than an iQ but can still seat four), but the arrival of the newcomer is confirmation that Toyota is about to re-enter a market it used to be a mainstay in.

The FT-86 is a rear-wheel drive four-seater with a hatchback, but it's a good chunk shorter than a BMW 1 Series Coupé and, promises Toyota, nice and light. In yet another example of carmakers pooling resources to beat the recession, this is actually a joint venture between Toyota and Subaru, so power comes from the Impreza's naturally aspirated 2.0-litre 'boxer' engine with 146bhp and 141lb.ft. Subaru will make its own version too, and the tie-up of course raises the tantalising prospect of a fire-breathing turbo version. Lovely.

The shell you see here is virtually production-ready, although the interior looks a little too futuristic to make the cut. Whether it will be replaced, as we fear, by an insipid slab of 1993-grade shiny plastic remains to be seen, but whatever, the coupé promises to be quite the poor man's Lexus LFA; Toyota is aiming for a sub-£20k price tag when it hits the shops in 2011. And with the Honda CR-Z on display in Tokyo too, it looks like we're about to witness the renaissance of the Japanese driver's car. We like that sort of renaissance here at Car Enthusiast.

Mark Nichol - 6 Oct 2009