Toyota S-FR Baby Sports Car - VIDEO

Toyota is toying with the idea of a new, smaller sports car that would slot in below its BRZ. Called the S-FR, it is said to be a front engine, rear drive sports car with a 1500 cc engine making about 130 horsepower. That should give it performance on a par with Mazda’s popular sports car, the Miata MX-5.

“I already tell you Toyota’s sports car goal must be three brothers – [BRZ] is the middle [brother], top model is something like a Supra,” Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer of Toyota’s sports car range told the press at the Tokyo motor show this week. According to Drive, Tada went on to say, “When you see the S-FR concept I suppose you imagine it is a 1.5-litre car but nowadays I can choose many kind of engines. Downsized turbo, 1.5-litre naturally aspirated and something additional as well. Now we are thinking which one is the best engine for a small sports car.”

Tada also said that if Toyota builds this car, it will not do so with a partner. The BRZ is shared with corporate cousin Subaru and the next large Toyota sports car is rumored to be a joint project with BMW.

The styling of the S-FR is far from elegant. It looks very much like a Griffith or TVR from the 80’s, neither of which won any design awards. It seems to have none of the visual interest most people associate with the many versions of the Toyota MR2.

The other concern is that the BRZ, despite being a pretty good sports car, is not selling particularly well in any markets around the world, leading some to wonder why Toyota needs yet another slow selling two seat sports car. It remains to be seen whether Toyota can make a business case for the S-FR. It may be that the ship has sailed on small two seaters like the Bug Eye Sprite that captured the hearts of sports car fans in the 50’s and 60’s.

New Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 Could Get AWD, Supercapacitors

The next Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 could use the same hybrid drivetrain in the Yaris Hybrid-R, paired with supercapacitors and all-wheel drive. But whether it will be a six-figure supercar or something a little more attainable hasn’t been settled just yet.

Rumors have been circulating for years that Toyota and BMW are teaming up on a hybrid sports car, and with the reveal of the Toyota FT-1 Concept, the return of the Supra as a performance hybrid seems all but certain. The blurry details are starting to come into focus, and the picture they paint a very different vehicle from the classic Supra or Z4.

The new car will utilize an all-wheel drive system paired with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain similar to the one the Yaris Hybrid-R Concept, but with one key difference. Instead of a 1.6 liter Toyota gas engine, a BMW motor no bigger than 2.0 liters will be used alongside a pair of electric motors. Engineers are drawing from knowledge gained from the Toyota TS030, the hybrid Le Mans endurance racer that has been nipping at Audi’s heels for the past couple of years.

This is where the supercapacitors come in. Unlike lihtium-ion batteries, which more energy but also a lot longer longer to recharge and discharge, supercapacitors store a little bit of kinetic energy for a big (but brief) boost in power. They recharge with kinetic energy (mostly from braking) just as quickly as they discharge, making supercapacitors a better option than standard lithium-ion batteries. High-strength steel and aluminum will be used to keep weight down, further improving performance. With no hard numbers to pin down right now though, it’s hard to tell where in the supercar hierarchy the next Supra/Z4 will fall.

So where does this leave the in-demand BMW i8? Hard to say; the current BMW Z4 and BMW i8 are distinctly different vehicles, and the ‘i’ brand is being touted as somewhat separate (but not TOO separate) from the regular BMW lineup. While Toyota’s lineup is noticeably devoid of any high-end performance cars, is there room in the BMW lineup for another hybrid supercar?

I don’t see why not.

Source: AutoCar

The Toyota FT-1, A New Supra By Any Other Name

Toyota dropped a bright red, Supra-sized bomb onto the stage at this year’s Detroit Auto Show- immediately stealing the show from Ford’s big F-150 reveal and turning everyone’s focus to the next Tokyo Auto Salon and talk of a new Supra.

Toyota’s suits talked a lot about stepping away from the focus groups to create the new FT-1 concept and injecting “passion” into the rest of the Toyota lineup. While the idea of a Formula-nosed Camry confuses and terrifies me, however, the idea of a Lexus LF-A informed Corvette and Porsche fighter from the land of the rising sun makes me giddy in the pantaloons. Almost certainly packing a hybrid drivetrain, this new Toyota is a Supra for the 21st century, or at least it seems.

Toyota will release the FT-1′s full specs tomorrow via a download on Sony’s Gran Turismo 6, when the car will become available for download. Until then, you’ll have to settle for these pics of the new Supra from the showroom floor from young DeMorro. Enjoy!

Source:  Gas 2.

Toyota Supra Successor Could Get Turbo-Hybrid Setup

Once upon a time, Toyota built a badass turbocharged sports car called the Supra. Alas, a new Supra has not been sold in the U.S. since 1998, though Toyota fanboys have been pining away for one. Well a new Supra could arrive around 2017, and more importantly, this Supra could get a turbocharged four-cylinder engine coupled with a hybrid drivetrain producing more than 400 horsepower.

Word on the street is that the next Supra will be based on the Toyota GT86 platform, which is sold in America as the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ. This lightweight, two-door platform would serve as an excellent basis for the next Supra, which would almost assuredly be positioned upmarket from the Scion FR-S, which starts around $25,000…

While the original Supra was rear-wheel drive, a hybrid setup could make the case for an all-wheel drive system. Then again, we love us some rear-wheel drive sports cars, and Toyota’s collaboration with BMW could produce a Supra hybrid supercar with perhaps a pure electric version to boot.

With this news, 2017 seems too far away.

Source: Motor Trend