Toyota’s new chairman wants a Supra-type sports car

By John LeBlanc Japan’s Toyota seems serious about changing its image as an appliance maker. After last year’s compact Toyota FT 86/Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ rear-wheel-drive triplets were so well received by driving enthusiasts and the media, a second, larger Toyota sports car now seems imminent. And the automaker’s incoming chairmen, Takeshi Uchiyamada, is pushing hard for that car to be reminiscent of Toyota’s iconic Supra from the 1990s. While admitting that the final decision is up to Toyota’s engineers and product planners, Uchiyamada has been honest in that he’d like to see the new sports car that Toyota is co-developing with Germany’s BMW to end up being in the spirit of the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive Supra GT car. “That's what I want but it's not me who makes the decision.” Peaking with the fourth-generation model that ran from 1992 until 2002 in Japan, the Supra was the pinnacle of a slew of Toyota sports cars from the 1990s that also included the Corolla SR-5 sports coupe (the inspiration for the FT86/FRS/BRZ), MR-2 mid-engine two-seater and the Celica coupe. A new Supra — or whatever Toyota decides to call it — would be yet another attempt at the Japanese automaker to inject some sort of personality into a lineup of vehicles that’s been criticised in the past for being practical and not exuding any kind of emotional appeal. Earlier this year, BMW and Toyota announced that the two companies were working on a mid-sized sports car. The German automaker has not indicated where it wants to take its version. (For example, will the new joint product replace or complement BMW's existing Z4 Roadster?)   As for the BMW/Toyota sports car's powerplant, Motor Trend has speculated that naturally aspirated, supercharged, and turbocharged versions of the current FT 86’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder are being considered. As well, Toyota has allegedly been working on an all-wheel-drive FT 86 prototype using in-wheel-electric motors, which could also be used in the new German-Japanese joint project. Although not confirmed, a concept version of the BMW/Toyota vehicle could appear at this fall’s biennial Tokyo auto show. As witnessed with even everyday, bread and butter cars, like its forthcoming 2014 Corolla, Toyota seems bent on changing its dowdy image. But while sporty cars like the Toyota FT 86/Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ and a new Supra satisfy enthusiast buyers (and media), do you think Toyota’s change in direction will be successful with existing buyers? Or do Toyota customers even care about sexy styling and high performance? Sources: Automotive News, Motor Trend  

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