RE: New Toyota FT-86 Concept Set For Geneva
Discussion
MotorTrend Interview said:
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.”
kambites said:
OK, if the chief designer said that, I no longer have any faith in it being any good. 
He's talking directly to the young domestic audience they're aiming for there.
kambites said:
scotstuscan said:
IF it as reliable as thier current offerings, all of these will be recalled for an indefinite period of time !!!!!
Don't Toyota have one of the lowest recall rates and best reliability records of any major manufacturer?Edited by kambites on Thursday 27th January 14:24
The press just pick on them. Toyota are viewed by many as a model of perfection for business car companies.Gaz. said:
I can't see it being sub £20k. The last Celica was around that figure before it was withdrawn from sale & the pound has tanked since then.
I reckon a fully specced Subaru coupe (STI?) would be closer to £40k. Toyota will probably want to undercut the 370Z, not by much though.kambites said:
Making it 4WD would completely defeat the point, IMHO.
Well, the only 4WD car I would fancy is Evo 9RS and that is despite it being 4WD. I really think that the only reason that there are 4WD quick cars around is because they were derived from FWD cars. If you were starting from scratch RWD would be the only way to go. Back in about 1970 when CanAm cars hit about 1000bhp per ton nobody mentioned 4WD. The only reason people looked at 4WD in F1 in those days was in an effort to keep down aerodynamic drag by being able to reduce the size of the rear tyres as the rules said open wheel.Terry Barr said:
kambites said:
Making it 4WD would completely defeat the point, IMHO.
Well, the only 4WD car I would fancy is Evo 9RS and that is despite it being 4WD. I really think that the only reason that there are 4WD quick cars around is because they were derived from FWD cars. If you were starting from scratch RWD would be the only way to go. Back in about 1970 when CanAm cars hit about 1000bhp per ton nobody mentioned 4WD. The only reason people looked at 4WD in F1 in those days was in an effort to keep down aerodynamic drag by being able to reduce the size of the rear tyres as the rules said open wheel. But also don't forget the homologation of rally cars. Oh, and also marketing - so many people at work tell me how their car corners like it's on rails because it's got 4WD - a mis-understanding, but it sells the cars! With F1 if I remember rightly I don't think there was much of a benefit in performance to be honest when they trialled it. If you look on You Tube there are some revealing races (mainly Best Motoring) between RWD and 4WD cars with similar power and weight and there's not a lot in it. Having said that, I think 4WD probably does have its uses in road cars if it's very wet and you have a car with a lot of power (400bhp+?), especially if it's front engined.Ultimately though, it comes down to what I presume Kambites was inferring, in that it would spoil subjectively how the car drove. Personally, my taste is for lightweight RWD cars as they can have such a lovely delicate balance if engineered correctly. This type of car, of around 1300kg and under 200bhp, would be ruined with 4WD IMHO.
RobM77 said:
Oh, and also marketing - so many people at work tell me how their car corners like it's on rails because it's got 4WD - a mis-understanding, but it sells the cars!
Depends what it is that they mean by that - they don't have any more outright grip, couldn't put in an ultimately faster lap on a circuit, but I bet they never enter a corner fast enough to use all their grip up in steady state cornering anyway. More likely that they have noticed that they can apply more power under cornering with impunity than they could if only two wheels were driven - that doing clumsy things with the accelerator is less likely to make them "come off the rails" if the transmission is distributing the power to whichever wheels still have some of their friction circle free.otolith said:
RobM77 said:
Oh, and also marketing - so many people at work tell me how their car corners like it's on rails because it's got 4WD - a mis-understanding, but it sells the cars!
Depends what it is that they mean by that - they don't have any more outright grip, couldn't put in an ultimately faster lap on a circuit, but I bet they never enter a corner fast enough to use all their grip up in steady state cornering anyway. More likely that they have noticed that they can apply more power under cornering with impunity than they could if only two wheels were driven - that doing clumsy things with the accelerator is less likely to make them "come off the rails" if the transmission is distributing the power to whichever wheels still have some of their friction circle free.RobM77 said:
kambites said:
scotstuscan said:
IF it as reliable as thier current offerings, all of these will be recalled for an indefinite period of time !!!!!
Don't Toyota have one of the lowest recall rates and best reliability records of any major manufacturer?Edited by kambites on Thursday 27th January 14:24
The press just pick on them. Toyota are viewed by many as a model of perfection for business car companies.But that is another conspiracy story load of BS*
- delete as applicable.
RogueMotorsport said:
The Toyota MR2 Roadster was *under* 1000kgs, rear wheel drive and had an LSD as standard. Just a shame it only had 138 ponies.
A seriously good car. Weighed the same as the mk1 I believe! 
138bhp suited it well, but I so wished they'd made a more powerful version.mat205125 said:
I've never considered a new car as a viable option, but if they can get these onto the road for £20k ish, with 200bhp ish, and less than 1200kg ish, with a standard LSD, then I think I could be pursuaded too.
Keep it small, light, and revvy. The MX5 sized coupe market is one which has been lacking a good value rear drive contender for far far too long.
Agreed, no-one makes any small, light, cheap Coupes anymore when there used to be loads (Puma, Tigra, 100NX, Paseo, MX-3, CRX, Civic Coupe, Astra Coupe, Megane Coupe, lower end 406 Coupe, Cougar, MX-6, etc) they all got killed off or turned into CCs, the last of the breed was the Hyundai Coupe and even that was killed off despite no competition in the marketplace.Keep it small, light, and revvy. The MX5 sized coupe market is one which has been lacking a good value rear drive contender for far far too long.
Hi time for an affordable style revival, a small, cheap to run, insure and maintain, light and good looking coupe that is £5k below the current coupes (RX-8, 370Z, TT, Scirocco, Brera, etc) i.e. £10-15k, Renault is at least pricing the lower end Megane Coupe in this market place and I see more and more of them so they are selling.
RobM77 said:
Having said that, I think 4WD probably does have its uses in road cars if it's very wet and you have a car with a lot of power (400bhp+?), especially if it's front engined.
Was driving Audi A6s in Sicily yesterday. Drove a 177bhp 2.0 TDI fwd. Roads were slightly damp but the car kept leaning on traction control when accelerating out of corners. As soon as the turbo spooled up, the TC light started winking away in the dash. Switch to the 3.0 TDI quattro - full beans with 68bhp more and not a blink from TC. steviegunn said:
Agreed, no-one makes any small, light, cheap Coupes anymore when there used to be loads (Puma, Tigra, 100NX, Paseo, MX-3, CRX, Civic Coupe, Astra Coupe, Megane Coupe, lower end 406 Coupe, Cougar, MX-6, etc) they all got killed off or turned into CCs, the last of the breed was the Hyundai Coupe and even that was killed off despite no competition in the marketplace.
Hi time for an affordable style revival, a small, cheap to run, insure and maintain, light and good looking coupe that is £5k below the current coupes (RX-8, 370Z, TT, Scirocco, Brera, etc) i.e. £10-15k, Renault is at least pricing the lower end Megane Coupe in this market place and I see more and more of them so they are selling.
What about the Hyundai Genesis Coupe? It went on sale recently. I think the price starts at 30 k€ with a 2.0 Turbo engine (>200bhp) and RWD, so it's still not that expensive.Hi time for an affordable style revival, a small, cheap to run, insure and maintain, light and good looking coupe that is £5k below the current coupes (RX-8, 370Z, TT, Scirocco, Brera, etc) i.e. £10-15k, Renault is at least pricing the lower end Megane Coupe in this market place and I see more and more of them so they are selling.
But I think the disapperance is due to the market. Everyone wants hot hatches *shudder* at the moment, so small coupes are a niche product. I'm still looking forward for a revival. Like in the late '80s when every manufacturer laughed at Mazda for the MX5 because the market for small roadsters was dead. The rest is history.
they are still dragging this on? I thought they released it years ago.
Well, as said, can only be a good thing. The MX5 did wonders in terms of price. Also the 350/370 have a lot of performance for their price. This will be between the two, I hope it sells great so the Italians and Germans can see there is still a good market for budget sports cars, and they stop churning out ugly monsters like the X5 and X6.
Well, as said, can only be a good thing. The MX5 did wonders in terms of price. Also the 350/370 have a lot of performance for their price. This will be between the two, I hope it sells great so the Italians and Germans can see there is still a good market for budget sports cars, and they stop churning out ugly monsters like the X5 and X6.
Benjman said:
What about the Hyundai Genesis Coupe? It went on sale recently. I think the price starts at 30 k€ with a 2.0 Turbo engine (>200bhp) and RWD, so it's still not that expensive.
It doesn't appear to be available in the ukhttp://www.hyundai-car.co.uk/
ZesPak said:
they are still dragging this on? I thought they released it years ago.
It was delayed for the pedestrian friendly mods, and apparently Toyo are also struggling with meeting the emission regulations.. which hopefully means they are trying to squeeze every (reliable) hp from the subarus 2ltr boxer engine.i think 2012 is still the expected release date. (was planned late 2011?)
apparently a hybrid version is also in the pipeline a further year or so down the line (first release will be NA only, and expected to be c180bhp).
(Im just regurgitating recent Toyota dealership rumours.. but the filtering down of info is normally pretty bang on. I know some dealerships that have taken deposits down on em aswell
.. they are unlikely to be given more than 3 or 4 cars to sell per quarter year so i wouldnt expect to see too many of them around initially)Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff