Toyota may need to rethink its sports car plans. According to survey results that just came to light in Japan, the Honda CR-Z generated far greater interest among the media and the public at October's 2009 Tokyo Motor Show than Toyota's FT-86 Concept. One of the main reasons given was that the CR-Z is ready for the market and will land in showrooms in Japan by February 2010, while the FT-86 won't appear until late 2011 and potentially will have a revised design.
That's not to say Toyota will scrap its edgy rear-drive FT-86. Far from it. Co-developed with Subaru, the FT-86 will employ a Subaru platform, 2.0-liter naturally aspirated boxer engine with revised Toyota head unit, and a six-speed manual gearbox from the Impreza. It will also have a Subaru twin brother -- albeit wearing a slightly different body.
The survey results also show that there is a definite and growing market interest in hybrid sports cars along the lines of the CR-Z. Interestingly, Toyota has had one on the drawing board for some time. Spotted circling Germany's Nurburgring way back in 2005, draped in heavy black camouflage, was a hybrid prototype employing a widened MR2 platform.
At the time, the MR2 prototype was powered by a mid-mounted, 3.3-liter V-6 hybrid driving the rear wheels and electric motors propelling the fronts. And at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, Toyota collaborated with ItalDesign to create the Alessandro Volta concept car, powered by a 3.3-liter hybrid and said to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 4 seconds. While Toyota dropped the MR2 in 2007 (the car was also known in Japan as the MR-S), rumors of its revival have been heating up recently, with a hybrid version reportedly heading the list. A rear drive, hybrid-powered sports car with MR2 roots would fit in perfectly with what new Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has been saying of late. "We want to design cars with more exciting exteriors and handling," he stressed at a recent gathering of Japan's Car of the Year jurors. To help it tap into what the market really wants, the world's biggest carmaker will create Toyota Marketing Japan Ltd in January next year. No doubt topping the division's to do list will be developing a plan for a CR-Z fighter combining solid performance, high fuel economy and low emissions -- all wrapped up in a excitingly styled body. Calling it MR2 -- a name familiar to enthusiasts around the world -- would seem to be a solid fit, although Prius Coupe could also be a possibility. We should know much more as 2010 unfolds.