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Why the LSx? Toyota already makes a perfectly serviceable V8 in the form of the 5.7L from their Tundra trucks.
That would prove to Toyota that this was supposed to be the next Supra.
Except for using the power.
I have 2 gripes with this car, primarily that it wasn't designed to fit adequate tires.
It's not just the need for a wide body kit, but what a 4" wider wheel does to scrub radius, bearing life, et cetera.
As for the LSx, It's not that earlier versions are heavier, they're not.
Later versions with VVT and AFM are heavier.
The weight issue comes from the available / affordable versions being iron-block pickup-truck engines.
And why not? The weight penalty is just 65#, nothing you can feel, it doesn't hurt emissions, it adds durability,
and truck versions can be had for under $200 complete.
And not that these cars could use it, but twin T76s on a salvaged truck version has proven capable of 1200 HP,
with a short-block assembly stock except for re-gapped rings.
My second issue with these cars is the asking price.
It seems to me they don't really comprehend the advantage of 3 quick nickels over one slow dime.
Rip out the trunk carpet, and in fact all the sound deadening and insulation.
Delete the sat nav, the radio, the speakers, and the air conditioning.
Get the price under $20,000 with the V8, it'll sell.
It's a huge gaping abyss of a hole in the market that noone is trying to fill.
And not just in America.
Human nature being what it is, a cheap, powerful, lightweight, no-frills stormer is universally craved.
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