Toyota FT-1 Concept points to Supra successor

Toyota has promised to stop building boring cars, as it unveiled a two-door sports-car designed to appeal to the Fast And The Furious generation.

The FT-1 concept -- which stands for “Future Toyota” -- unveiled at the Detroit motor show overnight is designed to appeal to a generation of young drivers who grew up on a diet of video games and, ironically, are slower than ever at actually getting their driving licence.

Toyota and others are desperate to get teenagers out of the virtual world, away from social media and into a showroom -- and the FT-1 is designed to be one of the drawcards. From tomorrow, it will offer the FT-1 concept as a free download on the GranTurismo 6 racing game, so potential buyers can take it for a test drive.

There is just one catch: Toyota has not yet committed to taking the car into production, and if previous Toyota concepts are a guide, it may not look as exciting as this, as it gets watered down in the process.

But the head of Toyota’s US design studio, Kevin Hunter, says the FT-1 is a sign that the world’s biggest and most conservative car maker is about to change. He said the FT-1 is designed to put the company “in a mind zone that’s of the emotion … that Toyota will imprint upon future production designs”.

“For many years Toyota has relied on … consumer studies and a degree of internal consensus,” said Mr Hunter. “The goal was to produce a vehicle that was liked by everyone. As a result we took less risk and tried not to stray too far from designs that had been a success.”

But, he said, company boss Akio Toyoda has demanded future cars should have “style that stirs people’s emotions and makes them say ‘I want to drive this’.  “Toyota’s design efforts are less reliant on consensus now,” said Mr Hunter. “We have empowered our designers and engineers to develop a creative and passionate vision for future mobility.”

The Toyota FT-1 launch didn’t go off without a hitch, however. The car was stuck in the box it came in. As it was loaded onto the stage, only one half of the life-size container opened. There was some confusion on the stand before it was prised open with some heavy lifting.

Toyota has not said what engine will power the FT-1, other than to say it has “an internal combustion engine”.  Toyota also would not say if it shares its underpinnings with the popular Toyota 86 sports-car (a joint venture with Subaru) or the future sports-cat it plans to build in conjunction with BMW.  “It’s a concept for now,” said Mr Hunter, declining to reveal the concept car’s dimensions. “They’re a little exaggerated for show purposes.”

At best, the FT-1 is still at least two years away from becoming a showroom reality -- if it gets a green light for production. Work on the concept car only began two years ago; in some cases, such as the Lexus LF-A, Toyota has shown concept cars five years before they arrive in dealerships.

At least Akio Toyoda, has given the FT-1 his personal blessings, after sampling it on the GT6 game. “He gave it the thumbs up when he finished his virtual lap faster than his best time in his own LF-A in real life,” said Toyota designer Alex Shen.