Is Toyota trying to become hip among car enthusiasts? The company seems to be making quite a play for the cheap sports car market, if this latest rumor is correct. Supposedly, the company is thinking about building an inexpensive rear-wheel-drive two-door in honor of their deceased chief test driver, Hiromu Naruse, who was killed in a collision near the Nürburgring while driving a LFA. Naruse had always wanted to see the company build a RWD car for young car aficionados (apparently the Toyobaru wasn’t what he had in mind), and if the reports are true, the company is doing its best to make that happen. The production version is expected to be similar to the GRMN Hot Hatch concept from this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, which was based on existing parts like a Daihatsu 1.5L inline-four cylinder engine to keep things cheap. The production version may reach production in 2012, according to company insiders, even before the FT-86; no word on if the car would make it to the States or under what nameplate it might wear. Could this be Scion’s rear-drive car, leaving the pricier Toyobaru to Toyota? [via Autocar]

(Pictured: Toyota GRMN Hot Hatch concept)