Thursday 11th October 2012
GT86 'just the start' for Toyota
Toyota's 'Mr GT86' hints at a three-model range of sports cars to come
An interview with Tetsuya '
Mr GT86' Tada in an overseas edition of Top Gear and subsequently reported on
4WheelsNews suggests the sports car he's credited with creating for
Toyota (
and Subaru...) is just the start.
Tada-san is hinting at more to come
PH met up with Tada-san in Scotland recently (more on this shortly) and spent some time with him as he explored some traditional UK driving in the '86 with a view to further developments off the platform. Along the way he let slip that he has a prototype back in Japan shorn of 100kg, which sounds promising. Meanwhile tuners and racers have been busy exploring the potential for more in the package, not least Toyota itself with its
Britcar racer.
But according to 4WheelsNews that's just the start and Tada has gone further in suggesting that the GT86 will be at the core of a three-car sports car range. So, how will that manifest itself? Perhaps a modern-day equivalent of the tiny, minimalist Sports 800 we drove back to back with the GT86 a little while back? An Elise-esque MR2 replacement with the GT86 fulfilling the Celica role and a new Supra at the other end of the scale? Who knows but having met Tada-san, hung out with him and got just a sense of his energy and enthusiasm it's an exciting prospect.
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tinkertaylor
Original Poster
501 posts
11 months
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I certainly hope this is just the start! fantastic if so
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Twincam16
27,228 posts
127 months
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A Supra in the mould of the old Celica Supra would be relatively easy to do, I reckon. The Celica Supra 2.8i had a modified front end to accommodate the straight-six. You could put a flat-six from a Legacy in there, alter the frontal styling to suit, throw in a couple of turbochargers and you have a Supra.
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robmlufc
2,732 posts
55 months
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David87
2,395 posts
81 months
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Supra vs GT-R! Fiiiiiight!
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LuS1fer
28,521 posts
114 months
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Far more exciting if they got an Italian stylist in.
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MycroftWard
2,651 posts
82 months
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This sounds great, I'd very much like to see them get back to the nineties hayday of the MR2/Celica/Supra/Soarer line up.
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robmlufc
2,732 posts
55 months
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David87 said: Supra vs GT-R! Fiiiiiight! 
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SmartVenom
222 posts
38 months
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The looks of this are really starting to grow on me. Saw the Subaru version for the first time the other day and spent quite a while staring at it (fortunately it was parked outside the dealers so I didn't look a complete freak).
A new MR2 of the Mk1/Mk2 ethos would be very nice. Almost every time I play with my Mk1 I'm left thinking how ahead of the time it really was.
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HorneyMX5
876 posts
19 months
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I suspect chopping the roof off and some styling tweaks to rival the MX5 will be high on the list.
Nick
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hornetrider
40,793 posts
74 months
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HorneyMX5 said: I suspect chopping the roof off and some styling tweaks to rival the MX5 will be high on the list.
Nick Agreed. It'll be getting on for 10k more than an MX5 though.
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Dave Hedgehog
5,320 posts
73 months
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Adrian W
8,119 posts
97 months
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Maybe they should just take an engine from Lexus
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StottyZr
4,093 posts
32 months
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An Elise competator would be nice. Sub 1000kg, 140-250hp variants and ~22-30k price tag with 5years warranty 
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pjac67
1,271 posts
121 months
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Come on LG where are you?
Keep up at the back....
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MycroftWard
2,651 posts
82 months
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StottyZr said: An Elise competator would be nice. Sub 1000kg, 140-250hp variants and ~22-30k price tag with 5years warranty That would be great for sure, it would put Lotus out of business though wouldn't it?
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Twincam16
27,228 posts
127 months
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MycroftWard said: StottyZr said: An Elise competator would be nice. Sub 1000kg, 140-250hp variants and ~22-30k price tag with 5years warranty That would be great for sure, it would put Lotus out of business though wouldn't it? Unless, like many Toyota cars over the years, Lotus was involved.
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tyrrell
367 posts
77 months
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Just another 40BHP & 40LBS of torque would transform the car 
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NigelCayless
20 posts
24 months
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New Supra please! I used to have one, great car,
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Dr G
9,271 posts
111 months
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LuS1fer said: Far more exciting if they got an Italian stylist in. David87 said: Supra vs GT-R! Fiiiiiight! No & no, stick to being and looking Japanese, stick to the scalpel approach, not the sledgehammer one.
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simonigrale
773 posts
75 months
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We picked our GT86 up at the start of September and love it. Very pure car. As you can see on the pic, the background gives you an idea of our running in process  
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