By Derek Price
Automotive Writer
Back in the 1990s, one of my “dream cars” was the Toyota Supra: a sleek, powerful, forward-looking coupe that made Japanese cars — and Toyotas in particular — seem exciting and sophisticated.
And if I couldn’t drive a Supra someday, I could at least settle for a Celica, a more affordable coupe that combined swept-back, curvy styling with a slightly sporty ride. That’s how a 1986 Celica became one of the first cars I ever owned.
Unfortunately, Toyota dropped both the Supra and Celica from its lineup when their sales tapered off, along with the MR2 mid-engined roadster.
That means that over the past decade, Toyota has become known more for selling gazillions of practical but dull sedans like the Camry and Corolla, along with fuel-sipping cars like the Prius, than anything thrilling.
Well, there’s good news for Toyota thrill-seekers. A new concept car unveiled recently at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit could signal a new, more exciting direction for this Japanese company.
The Toyota FT-1 concept car was unveiled recently at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It is inspired by some of Toyota’s sportiest models from the past, including the beloved Supra.
The Toyota FT-1 is a sleek, stylish, thoroughly modern coupe that looks more aggressive than the Supra ever did.
Granted, this is a concept car — more of an intellectual design study than a working, ready-for-the-dealership vehicle — but the fact the FT stands for “Future Toyota” gives me hope that it could turn into a real-life car on the streets.
I love a lot of things about the FT-1. To my eyes, it has those classic, timeless sports-car proportions with a long hood and tight, driver-focused cockpit stretched between big, muscular haunches in back.
But to call it “timeless” and “classic” is missing the point.
This is a futuristic car at its core, one that tries to innovate and push the boundaries of passionate design, which is something the car world always needs. Far too many vehicles these days feel like they’re designed by focus groups and committees with the goal of being inoffensive to potential buyers, which can make them dull and uninspiring — even if they sell spectacularly well like the Camry and Corolla do.
Toyota knows how to make inspiring cars, that’s for sure. It employs some of the best designers and engineers in the world, people who have built the Lexus LF-A supercar and worked with Subaru to create the Scion FR-S, which is one of the best sports cars to grace the world in years.
The problem is that, at least here in the United States, those cars have fallen outside the Toyota brand’s umbrella. Lexus and Scion have been pumping out some brilliantly exciting cars lately, like the new Lexus IS and, of course, the FR-S, but I’d love to see something more sports-oriented actually arrive on a Toyota dealership’s sales floor.
While Toyota did not name a specific engine envisioned for the FT-1, a transparent engine cover offers a peek at its performance potential with a classic front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout.
To me, this FT-1 concept car isn’t just about a hot visual design. It’s also about nostalgia, hearkening back to the 1980s and ‘90s when Toyota was more of an innovator in technology and style — leading the whole automotive industry to a better place in some ways.
It’s possible that the FT-1 could end up merely as a design study, with a few of its creases and curves showing up in watered-down form on a Camry in three years.
But I hope not.
If a car this exciting can make it into production — and actually become a Toyota, not a Scion or Lexus — it’s going to add a whole lot of luster that I’d love to see Toyota get back.
At a Glance
Video Commentary:
What I think about the FT-1:
http://bit.ly/toyotaconceptcar