Quote:
Originally Posted by Tcoat
Money, money and money.
Other than the specialty makes (i.e. Porsche) or the long timers (i.e. Corvette) the day of the individual manufacturer sports car is over. Even if the SF-R were to ever be made, which I doubt at this point, it would be in conjunction with somebody else. The costs to develop and build it independently are now just to high. If they made one all on their own and then wanted $80K for it instead of $30K would you still be interested?
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Mazda seems like a no-brainer to team up with to supply drivetrain and chassis technology...The 115bhp Skyactive 1.5 is already being shared in the former Scion iA and Toyota Yaris, and a quick warm-up tune could put it in the 130bhp range, which would work nicely with a ~2100 pound curb weight of the S-FR. Miata NC 5 speed could be shared with the Fiat 124. Similarly, between the FT86 and NC/ND Miata platforms, I'm sure an inexpensive and effective chassis/suspension solution could be arranged.
I think Toyota is afraid the S-FR and the 86 are too closely related, in terms of market. They're both small 4 cyl 2+2 coupes, blah blah blah...