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Celica Name May Be Revived for Production Model; Turbo, Cabrio Versions Being Considered
October 22, 2009
/ By Paul Horrell
Toyota Ft 86 Concept Front Three Quarter
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Amid repeated promises from new president Akio Toyoda that it will start making exciting cars to pull itself out of its slump, Toyota officially unveiled the FT-86 concept edition of its 2012 “affordable” compact rear-drive sport coupe at the 2009 Tokyo show.
As we've previously reported, the FT-86 is a joint effort with Subaru, which engineered the car to Toyota’s performance targets, and will be building both the Toyota and its own version. Subaru didn’t unveil its version at the Tokyo show, instead leaving all the glory to the Toyota. Subaru’s version is expected to debut sometime next year.
It’s a proper sports-car platform, though the suspension fundamentals are familiar from the Legacy. The engine is a Subaru boxer 2.0-liter four with a Toyota head unit, normally aspirated to keep the price low but with direct gas injection. Expect 160-180 horsepower, which should be able to provide decent performance because the car is light thanks to its compactness -- just 164 inches long, which is sub-Audi TT, but with a comparatively stretchy 101-inch wheelbase. It’s also possible it will use aluminum in its construction.
Toyota Ft86 Concept Rear
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A six-speed manual transmission is mounted directly behind the engine, but the motor itself is low and well aft -- further back than in existing Subarus -- so weight distribution will be helpful to the dynamics. When asked about the actual balance, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada replied: “Many people think it should be 50:50, but we did lots of tests and that isn’t the best for drifting. That’s why the gearbox is at the front not the rear. Drifting and sliding the tail is the most important thing, and this car will be the best in the world for that.”
He added, “We have built lots of prototypes and taken them to the Nurburgring, but this isn’t just a car for the track. The steering will react instantly, and you’ll feel it not just on the track but on every junction on the way to the supermarket.”
Toyota Ft 86 Concept Grille Toyota Ft 86 Concept Rear Three Quarter Toyota Ft 86 Concept Side Exhaust
Toyota Ft 86 Concept Passenger Seat Toyota Ft 86 Concept Rim Toyota Ft 86 Concept Side Dash
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/auto_news/112_0910_toyota_ft_86_could_get_celica_name/index.html#ixzz0X5SQQmLC
The car was styled at Toyota’s ED2 studio in the south of France. It has echoes of the FT-HS hybrid sports show car from Detroit 2007, but a roofline and greenhouse that can accommodate two small passengers in the rear. There’s a bit of fussiness to some of the strange overlapping panelwork, especially around the front wheel arches, but it’s modern, aerodynamic and distinctively Japanese.
The cockpit will obviously not survive intact to production. It’s too precious, sad to say. It sports glowing neon, milled aluminum twist-switches sprouting from the oval instrument binnacle, and a leather dash with zippers slashing across it. Fetishists would die for it. Another detail unlikely to make production is the A-posts, which incorporate slitlike vertical windows to improve visibility. But sitting in the car, it feels nicely wrapped around the driver, and not intimidating. The windshield is shallow, but even without those trick pillars you get all the visibility you need while still feeling you wear the car.
Engineer Tada, when questioned about a turbo option, replied: “This isn’t the end of the story, if you all [the assembled press] want more power.” He later told Motor Trend that if readers push for a cabrio version, they might also be rewarded.
Toyota Ft 86 Concept Interior
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President Toyoda referred several times at the Tokyo show to his company’s rear-drive sports cars, citing the MR2, the Celica and the AE86 Corolla coupe. “The fact that none of these vehicles is still being produced makes me, a serious car fan, really sad,” he said. The show-car’s FT86 name is a reference to the AE86, by the way, but Tada says the production car might be called Celica.
Toyota Ft86 Concept Front Three Quarter 2009 Toyota Ft 86 Concept Controls Toyota Ft86 Concept Side
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/auto_news/112_0910_toyota_ft_86_could_get_celica_name/interior_exterior.html#ixzz0X5SUaKSI
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