Official: Toyota FT-1 Concept / First New Supra Prototype Spotted!

[RFB]

Originally Posted by vh_supra26

How do you guys like this one?

Removing the stupid D!ck nose is the right thing to do !




CERBERUS

[vh_supra26]

Designers of the red-hot prototype were given carte blanche to create the sports car of our dreams



The designers of the Toyota FT-1 Concept sports car proudly stand behind their creation. Ninth from the left is Alex Shen, Studio Chief at Toyota’s Calty Design Research centre. To his left is Bill Chergosky, Calty’s manager of interior design.

Designers of the red-hot prototype were given carte blanche to create the sports car of our dreams

By John LeBlanc

DETROIT – Toyota is sticking to its guns that its FT-1 concept, arguably the “hit” of the 2014 Detroit auto show, is just that — a concept. Sporting design echoes from former Toyota sports cars from the 1960s’ 2000GT to the Supra of the 1990s to today’s Scion FR-S, it’s hard not to think that the FT-1 (which officially stands for “Future Toyota”) won’t eventually influence the joint sports car that the Japanese automaker is developing with Germany’s BMW.

To find out more about the genesis of the FT-1’s design, Driving.ca sat down with the two men most responsible for the concept’s creation. Alex Shen is the Studio Chief at Toyota’s Calty Design Research centre in Newport Beach, California, while Bill Chergosky is Calty’s manager of interior design.

The Toyota FT-1 Concept is the Supra successor of your dreams



JOHN LEBLANC: You mentioned that the FT-1 was inspired by sports cars from Toyota’s past. Are there any specific design details on the concept our readers would pick out?

ALEX SHEN: I think you get a feeling of the 2000GT, especially in the cabin, the wraparound windshield and side window opening, which was a conscious effort. In terms of the proportion and the sense of muscularity, you can see a lot of Mark IV Supra too. There’s also a bit of FR-S in the nose as well. All those attributes we wanted to introduce to the design as well as creating something new. We just didn’t want to put elements on the vehicle and then “call it a day.”

Four designers and their cars: The mind behind the beauty



JL: Did you change your normal deign process with the FT-1?

AS: The only thing that went beyond the normal was that we wanted to create a visceral experience when we pitched this car to senior management. It is a sports car. So we felt that it was necessary to show what it feels like to drive the car. Typically we have a static model. But our partnership with the makers of Gran Turismo at Polyphony allowed us to “build” then “drive” the FT-1 virtually. We were able to see what the car felt like to drive and test out the new head-up display. We know Akio-san (Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s CEO) is a car guy, and we know he has experience with Gran Turismo. (Rumours are the president has a setup in his office.)

JL: Let’s talk about the FT-1’s head-up display, or HUD, and how it influenced the interior.

BILL CHERGOSKY: The main theme was to blend the old — as in the 2000GT — with the new. We did a lot of research driving other high performance cars. And out of that research we got the idea of “driving in the zone.” When you’re driving at speed, everyone asks you how fast you are going. But I have no idea. I never look at the meters. I can see my hands and the road ahead — that’s it. So we made the decision to reinvent the meters and take them out of the dash, bring them above the wheel and make them the primary focus. The result ended up being very authentic, not just some Hollywood prop.



JL: How boundless was your creativity on this project?

AS: That was the unique part of this project: we were given free reign to design a sports car. However, to be “authentic”, there has to be some sense of reality. When car guys look at this, they recognize what it is. We’re not using technology 30 years out, it’s from today, but done in a very fresh new way.

JL: Any challenges along the way?

AS: The challenge was producing an authentic sports car from a designer’s perspective. While Toyota’s LeMans sports car was designed and built by engineers, the FT-1 was designed by designers. So we didn’t have a lot of engineering involvement; that’s why we ended up doing a lot of research ourselves. That meant we created the whole package, where the seats went, the wheelbase. Typically we would be handed some basic package, but this one we started with a white sheet of paper.

BC: For the interior, we may not be able to afford to have carbon fibre pieces everywhere. But from a technology standpoint and from its proportions, the interior is not an impossibility. That doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.

JL: So which one of you has the better lap time driving the “virtual” FT-1?

BC: [Laughs] Clearly Alex. He’s the Gran Turismo guy.

http://driving.ca/toyota/auto-news/n...-1-came-to-be/

[ihaskrayon]

FS: Left Kidney.

Feeler: One testicle.

[Ponwh]

SOURCE : http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...gen-supra.html



Toyota has confirmed that the FT-1 will become the next-generation Supra.

The stunning concept took this year’s Detroit Auto Show by storm, and almost to the moment that it was unveiled, rumors started stirring that it would be the next-generation Supra. Now those rumors can come to a rest as it has been confirmed that the FT-1 will be produced as the next great sports car by the Japanese automaker.

[Kimsey47]

Source that Autoguide pulled from:

http://www.motoring.com.au/news/spor...xt-supra-41509

Guess we'll see if this really holds true... Seems like Toyota would have had a much larger way to say that this thing is going into production as the next Supra. The sources (I feel) are still making assumptions at this point.

[Frost]

Whhhhhhhhuuuut?

Good to see Akio Toyoda truly keeping his word in wanting to remake Toyota as a brand that is re-affiliated with fun to drive again.

[LFA.Baby]

Should I wait for this, or buy my frs soon? Hmmm..

[husker741]

Originally Posted by LFA.Baby

Should I wait for this, or buy my frs soon? Hmmm..

This won't be out for awhile. Get a used FR-S if you wanna save a little, then go for this. You'll be waiting awhile if you wait.

[LFA.Baby]

Originally Posted by husker741

This won't be out for awhile. Get a used FR-S if you wanna save a little, then go for this. You'll be waiting awhile if you wait.

True, also the price will probably hover around 70k$. Not in my budget for now.

[husker741]

Originally Posted by LFA.Baby

True, also the price will probably hover around 70k$. Not in my budget for now.

I'm guessing much more than that.

[dem00n]

Originally Posted by husker741

I'm guessing much more than that.

I don't think so.

A 1998 Supra Turbo's MSRP was around $40,000, which is about $57,000 in today's money.

Toyota knows who they are, they can't sell a car that isn't a buster at 70k+, it wouldn't look right.

Still think it be high 50's-60's.

They put a shit load of R&D in the MK4 as well...it wasn't some recycled chassis and suspension.

[YukiHachiRoku]

I want to know what kind of engine this bad boy will have in it.

[husker741]

Originally Posted by dem00n

I don't think so.

A 1998 Supra Turbo's MSRP was around $40,000, which is about $57,000 in today's money.

Toyota knows who they are, they can't sell a car that isn't a buster at 70k+, it wouldn't look right.

Still think it be high 50's-60's.

They put a shit load of R&D in the MK4 as well...it wasn't some recycled chassis and suspension.

Nissan says hello.

[zigzagz94]

Originally Posted by dem00n

I don't think so.

A 1998 Supra Turbo's MSRP was around $40,000, which is about $57,000 in today's money.

Toyota knows who they are, they can't sell a car that isn't a buster at 70k+, it wouldn't look right.

Still think it be high 50's-60's.

They put a shit load of R&D in the MK4 as well...it wasn't some recycled chassis and suspension.

All interviews with Calty designs have said around $60k usd:




"Calty's starting point was to design a sports car with a theoretical $50,000 to $60,000 price tag, Hunter said. That meant designing something wild, but not so exotic that it pushed the car into the territory that would make it a Lexus."


http://www.autonews.com/article/2014...#axzz2qyXTVmGw