Competitors in Europe?

[hogge]

I'm wondering, what worthy opponents does the FT-86 have in Europe? At least here in Sweden, pretty much everything sporty is very over priced. I can only think of the Mazda MX-5 and a poorly equipped Saab 9-3 with XWD and a large engine as a viable alternative.

[large 216]

Hey,
one that i reckon is going to a competitor is the hyundai veloster. I for one don't like the shape at all but it's a brand new sports car that will more than likely try and be cost effective aswell

Regards large

[AudiTT]

I'd say VW Scirocco is the closest competitor. Price will propably be quite close. Both are coupes and altough Scirocco is FWD it's still much more of a "drivers car" than a Golf to which it's based.

Basic TT could compete with Toyota/Subaru also. TT being a little more expensive but also quality of the materials in the cabin are most likely higher. And in basic form it's lightweight (1240kg if i remember correctly).

What about Hyundai Genesis Coupe? 2,0T is not for sale here (only V6) so i don't know it's price.

[Harinjo]

there is no real competitior (with rwd) in europe

- mx5 (roadster/2 seats)
- genesis coupe (too big and heavy - but cheap - 2.0T around 23k € )
- bmw series1 coupe (toooo expensive - 125i with m package around 35k€ )

[AudiTT]

there is no real competitior (with rwd) in europe

Yes. If RWD is a "must have" requirement, you are absolutely right.

But still, most of the carbuyers, even in coupe-class, don't really care. Most are not so enthusiastic, they just want a nice looking car with a decent performance and good quality.

Drifters and other "hooligans" are a very small group of all the possible buyers. They obviously can't live without RWD. But rest of us... RWD is a nice thing to have but not a must.

BTW, it will be interesting to see how AlfaRomeo will be pricing 4C. The car, at least in concept form, looks absolutely stunning. Mid-engine, rwd and less than 1000kg...

[Harinjo]

of course you're right - most bmw 1 series drivers doesn't even know that they have rwd

for me balance is everything - low centre of gravity and around 50:50 weight distribution is all i want - if then weight is not to high -> perfect

i am german "tüv-engineer", so i drive every kind of car every day and i can say that a mx5 nb with 110hp makes more fun than audi rs4 (v8)

[AudiTT]

Originally Posted by Harinjo

of course you're right - most bmw 1 series drivers doesn't even know that they have rwd

Heh, so true. I've read the same thing. Tells a lot of an average buyer of BMW, i quess...

But that's also how it is more generally. Especially this kind of coupes are usually bought because of the looks. That's why Subaru/Toyota are making a mistake if they only rely on the enthusiast to make their car a success. Marketing a car with just technical specs, rwd, weight distribution etc. would be odd. Those things doesn't matter at all to most of the potential buyers.

I'm waiting the final release with interest. Although changing an Audi to Toyota or Subaru doesn't sound very smart...

[Tyandriel]

it was BMW itself that made a survey throughout it´s 1series customers. They asked them what they think: is their car FWD or RWD and 80%(!) said FWD. I still have the internal report somewhere...
After that they had plans to make the new 1series FWD, but that created an uproar amongst the enthusiasts

Originally Posted by AudiTT

I'm waiting the final release with interest. Although changing an Audi to Toyota or Subaru doesn't sound very smart...

I think this will be the biggest problem to sell the FT-86 in Europe. If the price of the FT is too high, the people rather keep/buy a european car. Because it would be a bigger status symbol.
You can´t boast here with a sporty ricer with no options. Even if you´d show them that this is 1000x more fun than a <insert random german sporty car here> they´d still don´t understand. Even if you could say "it´s only 22k€!!!" (wishful thinking here) you´d be told "can´t afford a Audi, eh!?"

so, what´s left? the people who don´t give a *peep* on the other peoples opinions. Those aren´t very much. And the half of them will buy a 10year old diesel Golf. From the remaining half the half can´t afford a new car. And then the remaining quarter can still choose an alternative to the FT. Not many buyers left. With a price too high their numbers will reach abyssal depths.

[jenwhite]

just wanna share Im new to saab, a former mazda addict and found one to break it haha. I drive the same model you’ve mentioned, the 9-3 sport saloon… just had this vehicle a year ago, a buddy suggested me to purchase on autopartswarehouse’ site… you can find best parts of saab here. It has 100k miles, a great car for me

[Arnie_1]

Yes, I agree. There's there are very few true enthusiasts (surprisingly) in europe for this car. I think the UK will do well with them. But I don't see Germany being a huge market. Perhaps since its small, it might surprise us and be popular for the sporty city driver. Unfortunately here in Germany (similar to the US) people are obsessed with HP and top speed, not with good handling (just look at all the high horsepower but completely slammed VW GTi's on the road! ) I've been very surprised how ignorant many of the German enthusiasts are on the boards. They think that slamming your car to the ground with stiff coilovers = a good handling car. Actually kind of similar to quite a few of the younger "touge" forum members who are interested in this car out of the US.

I agree on the direct competition. I'd also add the Renault Clio Cup or Megane Cup/RS.