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Toyota appears to be serious about offering their long awaited new generation FT-86 by the end of 2011 – barely. They are egging on the public by showing an “FT-86 II concept” in Geneva. A Toyota press release promises that “the production model based on the FT-86 II concept is scheduled to make its world premier at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show 2011.“ Which is in December.
The FT-86 roman numeral two is jointly developed with Fuji Heavy Industries’ Subaru. The press release announces it as “currently the world’s only rear-wheel-drive sports car equipped with a horizontally opposed engine (concept vehicle).”
You want the specs on that horizontally opposed engine? Here they are:
| F-86 II concept Main Specifications |
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Length
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4,235 mm
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Width
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1,795 mm
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Height
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1,270 mm
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Wheelbase
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2,570 mm
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Engine
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Four-cylinder horizontally opposed DOHC engine
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That’s it.
21 Comments on “Toyota Tease: FT-86 II Concept...”
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Ugly is the only four letter word I can think of for this (and post that word on the net). Where is Godzilla? I will take the Morgan 3 wheeler any day.
I have high hopes for this car. I would really like to see Toyota has a new production vehicle that is fun to drive, with the combined reliability of a Subaru and Toyota. If they can manage to give me a coupe with ~170HP and RWD for about 20K, I think I would consider it. I just hope it isn’t as pedestrian feeling as the newer Legacy models when you’re behind the wheel. I also hope that the design is just a little subdued than it is in this concept picture.
You mean like the Genesis coupe?
Yes, just like the Genesis coupe. I actually really like it, but I would more likely be drawn to something engineered (even if just the engine) by Subaru than Hyundai.
If they can manage to give me a coupe with ~170HP and RWD for about 20K, I think I would consider it
Considering the highly-commoditized Scion tC can barely manage that, I don’t think this car will do it. I’m thinking WRX money at minimum.
The cheap, rear-drive sporty car is effectively dead. Young people can’t afford the payments and really can’t afford the insurance and older folk want either something more relaxed-fit, or more track-ready. What little space there is left is occupied by the Miata and a myriad of fairly-capable front-drivers.
According to the Japanese press, its suppose to be around 200hp from a direct-injected variant of the FB20 boxer-4, with a possibility of a turbo charged version as well (as shown in the G’z concept). And unlike the Genesis, which weighs 3,300lbs even for the 4-cylinder version, this car should be below 3,000lbs. The estimations are currently 1,300kgs, which is around 2,866lbs.
Either way, my thoughts are that the car has become much more aggressive and less conservative in the looks department versus the original concept. There are a lot of love-hate elements added to the design, like the side-vent. This may indicate a new design direction for Toyota, from vanilla please-everyone looks to be more love-hate aggressive emotional.
For Toyota they will need to match performance to the looks, if a car that looks this aggressive is doing 7-8 second 0-60 times than it may pose a problem (they should aim for below 7s). the Japanese are far too pragmatic in how they view sports cars, the Japanese tend to think of what people “need” in real-world driving.
As the Nikkei documentary on CR-Z development has shown, they’ve deemed things like 0-60 times and outright speed as unnecessary for how people are likely to drive the car (the luke warm response to the car should be an indication of its sucess). But enthusiast cars aren’t about logic and pragmatism. If they want this to bring an emotional response to the Toyota brand they should design and engineer this emotionally as well. Love it or hate it, from a design perspective they seem to have taken this to heart, we’ll see how final paper specs are.
LED running lights a la Audi. How fresh and new
15 inches shorter overall, with 10 inches shorter wheelbase than the Genesis Coupe…
>>If they can manage to give me a coupe with ~170HP and RWD for about 20K
No they can’t, because that would be like selling you a cornbeef sandwich for $3, i.e. lost revenue per walk-in. I bet the Toyota will hit $40K in a heartbeat and Subie will be peddling its lame variant for $5K less. Then when they realize the sales suck, they will start offering 4wd and showing flashy shots of this car on hard pack snow.
Either way, they could’ve made it uglier if they completely mimicked Corolla S so I guess there are ways to go towards UGLY for this concept.
You really think Toyota will charge more for this than Nissan charges for the 370Z?
Something I read the other day said this will be badged as a Scion. Given that Subaru sells their Imprezza with its boxer-four and all-wheel-drive for about $18k over the curb in the basic package, complete with traction control, cruise control, electric windows and a/c, this can certainly be in your driveway for less than $20k.
And yeah, as a former Gen1 Celica owner, I can certain visualize this in my driveway.
Apparently all those coupe-i-fied four door sedans are sating much of the desire for actual two door coupes.
Judging by sales, lots of enthusiasts who say they want a two door car are more than happy to drive off in a four door car that has a coupe roof line and other coupe styling cues.
“currently the world’s only rear-wheel-drive sports car equipped with a horizontally opposed engine”
Did Porsche stop making the 911 ?
I’ve seen it phrased as ‘only FR sports car…’ in other materials, which would be more accurate.
The concept is way over done but we all know the production version will be toned down. As mentioned the real question is price and power. The turbo Genesis Coupe at 210HP and $22K must be the target as its the only affordable RWD coupe I can think of other then Miata which is clearly a different animal. If the FT-86 is lighter & smaller then 180HP and $18K would be the sweet spot. Going up market after the WRX and 370Z would be a major mistake.
I think 95% of this is production ready (exterior design)…
I think very minor items will be tweaked as they commercialize this vehicle:
– Internal headlight detailing
– Embedded LED’s in bumper
– Front Grill surround protrusion
– Fender vent detail (might get toned down)
I really think the window frames, metal body panels, glass etc are the production versions.
I think they chose black for the display vehicle as certain styling details arent 100% reconciled yet but close.
If it’s any indication that there are customers out there who will buy this car there is already a fairly busy fan site ft86club in operation . Expected price is 25K and it’s supposed to be badged as the Scion FT-S in North America .
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/
http://garage.redlinemotive.com/story/toyota-ft86-will-be-named-the-scion-ft-s/
I like this car… and I’m keeping an eye on it.
I drove a Genesis , and wasn’t impressed. Disappointed actually.. I was then tortured for 30 minutes by a V6 Camaro, so when I got in the ’11 V6 Mustang it only took a few minutes to decide to buy it.
I will be waiting in ’12 at my Toyota (Scion??) dealer when these start rolling in.. If the finalized specs are anything I can get excited about, maybe it’ll be time for a trade-in…
After seeing the grille of this car, the only thing I want to know is, “Why so serious?”
Gawd. Concept I looked soooooooo much better.
newest… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pCXsFDlvns