Toyota and Subaru have confirmed that they are to jointly develop an affordable small sports coupe.

This rear-wheel-drive model will go on sale in the US in 2011, though sales elsewhere in the world have not yet been confirmed.

The car will be built by Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru's parent company) in Japan, and will feature a Subaru flat-four petrol engine.

A top-end variant - thought to be in the vein of the Celica GT4 - is expected to feature Subaru's all-wheel-drive system. Subaru is to develop the car's platform, but exterior design will be by Toyota, with each model clearly differentiated and separately marketed.

This news comes after the announcement this week that Toyota is to increase its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries to 16.5 per cent. It has paid an estimated $300million to up its holding from the 8.7 per cent it bought in 2005.

The new deal also brings further collaborations: Toyota is to build a compact car for Subaru (a successor to the Justy) and Daihatsu (majority-owned by Toyota) is to build several new small cars for Subaru, including a version of its Coo (aka the Materia) and tiny city cars with engines under 660cc.