Photo: Holiday Auto
Just before the revealing of the FT-1 concept at the 2014 North American International Auto Show, Toyota's three-model sportscar range was starting to look pretty well sort out. But according to latest reports, there are some things that don't really fit in.
Toyota's return into sportscar territory was marked by the launch of the GT 86 coupe in 2012, a fun, simple and affordable car for driving enthusiasts.
In the meantime, rumors that Toyota and BMW are working on a joint project started to appear, with almost everyone believing that the two companies might put out the new Supra.
Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada also admitted in an interview that the 86 brand should be composed by three sportscars, with the GT 86 being the middle child.
Then, Toyota revealed the FT-1 concept at the 2014 Detroit Show, looking like BMW had nothing to do with the project. The concept's design was inspired by the lines of the 2000GT and Supra combined with new design cues from the GT 86.
Our feelings were confirmed, as a source close to BMW said that indeed, the German automaker had nothing to do with the FT-1. However, the source said that Toyota was involved in creating a sportscar with them, something that might be a new Z4.
But then something started to seem offset. If the Japanese and German automakers will share a Z4-grade sportscar, how will it integrate in Toyota's three-model lineup?
The current Z4 model is just as big as the GT 86. And looking at today's auto industry, the upcoming model will probably retain, or even exceed a bit, the dimensions, which means that Toyota's smallest sportscar will conflict with the actual GT 86.
This means of course that the FT-1 might not spawn anything and it's just a “design study”, and the possible upcoming Supra successor might be indeed something with BMW underpinnings.
From this point, we can just assume that either the next Z4 will be considerably smaller than the GT 86 (which will probably never happen) or slightly bigger and that Toyota's smallest sportscar in the family is not yet on the drawing board.
Whatever the two automakers have in their minds right now, all we can do is wait and see what happens, so just keep your browser pointed at us and we'll provide with the latest updates.
In the meantime, rumors that Toyota and BMW are working on a joint project started to appear, with almost everyone believing that the two companies might put out the new Supra.
Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada also admitted in an interview that the 86 brand should be composed by three sportscars, with the GT 86 being the middle child.
Then, Toyota revealed the FT-1 concept at the 2014 Detroit Show, looking like BMW had nothing to do with the project. The concept's design was inspired by the lines of the 2000GT and Supra combined with new design cues from the GT 86.
Our feelings were confirmed, as a source close to BMW said that indeed, the German automaker had nothing to do with the FT-1. However, the source said that Toyota was involved in creating a sportscar with them, something that might be a new Z4.
But then something started to seem offset. If the Japanese and German automakers will share a Z4-grade sportscar, how will it integrate in Toyota's three-model lineup?
The current Z4 model is just as big as the GT 86. And looking at today's auto industry, the upcoming model will probably retain, or even exceed a bit, the dimensions, which means that Toyota's smallest sportscar will conflict with the actual GT 86.
This means of course that the FT-1 might not spawn anything and it's just a “design study”, and the possible upcoming Supra successor might be indeed something with BMW underpinnings.
From this point, we can just assume that either the next Z4 will be considerably smaller than the GT 86 (which will probably never happen) or slightly bigger and that Toyota's smallest sportscar in the family is not yet on the drawing board.
Whatever the two automakers have in their minds right now, all we can do is wait and see what happens, so just keep your browser pointed at us and we'll provide with the latest updates.
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