FT-86, here under Scion brand, looks the business
Toyota hasn't made a PH-worthy car for ages. But the FT-86 is one of them and I, for one, can't wait for the car to arrive. And it seems I'm not alone, the response to our story last week
from the LA show
where its Scion-branded brother was showing in concept form alongside its Subaru BRZ equivalent showing
a real appetite
Toyota has a lot to prove. Because, let's face it, the mainstream products are the very personification of cars as white goods blandness. Worse than that, the safe middle ground Toyota has occupied lately is rapidly being taken over by the Koreans, whose products combine unpretentious dependability AND a little bit of design verve. Leaving Toyotas as expensive, boring to drive and utterly anonymous to look at.
Baby Lexus LFA looks are grower
The timing for the FT-86 for Toyota is therefore bang on. Cars like the Celica, Supra, MR-2 and even classic old AE-86 prove that there is - or was - a sense of fun at the heart of the brand once. And it's up to the FT-86 to rekindle that.
But it's relevant to more than Toyota. The 911 we've driven this week (you may have noticed...) is now so outrageously competent that to extract even a modicum of excitement from the drive requires a doubling or even trebling of local speed limits. Um, apparently. Very impressive. But how long before the laws of physics or the land catch up with you, in a very big way?
A lighter car with less power but more emphasis on handling? You'd have never thought Toyota would be leading the charge but it is. With a bit of help from Subaru - another brand desperate for a new direction.
Subaru version ain't half bad either
Scion badges or not, the FT-86/FR-S I saw last week looked utterly fabulous and the real thing is just days away from its Tokyo debut, alongside its Subaru equivalent. The Toyota looks every inch the LFA's little brother, at a price and performance level more relevant than the Lexus. 200hp and a price around £25K? With rear-wheel drive and an emphasis on weight saving that's something PH can really get behind. All of a sudden that Scirocco or TT doesn't quite look so appealing, does it.
So. Expect a whole lot of FT-86 and BRZ chatter over the coming days. We're excited. You should be too. And just to whet your appetite here's a little teaser video, heavy on the corporate schmaltz and racking up the hype another notch but a game we'll happily play a part in.