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Originally Posted by pukicabuki
It was way too expensive to build the FT-1 concept. The complex body panels were a nightmare to mold and would have been nearly impossible to produce in quantity with high enough quality standards. The car would have cost well north of $100k if they had made a new chassis/drivetrain in-house along with the complex body work. My Dad worked for Toyota for 20 years and had a great conversation with one of the engineers on the FT-1 concept when it made an appearance at a regional Toyota corporate event. The concept didn’t even have a real drivetrain or functional electronics. It was a pretty shell with a small electric motor so it could be moved around.
Its just too expensive to make new platforms these days unless it can be shared across products/brands. Get used to it, it’s going to be happening more and more.
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Get used to what?
I never even mentioned the concept car in my post. Not sure what the FT-1 concept has to do with Toyota's lack of innovation. Everything they've ever done involved someone else. GT2000 was a Jaguar design. Celica was response to the Datsun Z. MkIV was response to Z32TT. LFA took 10 years. Oh wait, they did popularize the Prius.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Bread
I know I'm in the minority, but having seen the FT1 at Cars and Coffee in Irving, it's hideous, overstyled and all fluff. I'm not a huge fan of the few fake vents and weird thing stuck on the door of the Mk5, but it's better in every way than the bulbous and inflated looking FT1. It just looks like a front engine car masquerading as a mid engine car.
And didn't Toyota effectively nullify this Manhart power gain with the 2021 car that's dynoing at nearly 390hp?
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Well, I'm with you. Overstyled it is. However, it did do what it was made to do, which was to rile up hype. The link between the FT-1 and Supra was pretty much due to the media. Until Toyota comes out with a true halo car, Toyota is a bland car company. Even if they do, will it stay a Toyota or will it become a Lexus like the LFA? And the LC500.
Their attempts to stylize the Camry and Corolla are just that, and it ends up being fluff. Exciting? To some, yes. Will it ever be a BMW? I highly doubt it. I think that's why the MkV is a BMW.