The post Farewell to the Generation 1 Toyota 86, and Subaru BRZ, as well as Lexus GS. appeared first on Club4AG.

Picture 1 shows the additional bracket to reinforce structural rigidity of the rear wheel well and upper shock/spring mount.
While the effects are hardly noticeable, it does work to strengthen the section against impact deformation and wear of unibody when the car is modified to higher grip tires and when used over rough roads for extended life of the car.

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Toyota's Japanese (Global) branch arm Gazoo Racing Brand, which is making a few headlines in recent years, have been leaking bits of plans for late 2020 and into 2021.

Before we get to the list, let me mention that "GR" is a limited edition package for lightly tuned cars.
"GRMN" is usually given to cars which have extensive modifications and are VERY limited, and are set far above the price of the sibling cars in normal line up, and usually built off-line by hand.

On the list of cars to be sold (not confirmed official) are...

Supra GRMN, with upgraded engine, rigid chassis tune, and revised brakes and suspensions.

Base "builder's SZ package" Supra for those who customize or prepare race dedicated cars.

A GT4 Customer Package (non street) racing car program for professional GT4 teams.

CH-R GR Edition, with retuned suspension and interior/exterior packages.

Corolla GR Edition and Touring Wagon (also with GR Edition)

And faint clues on a $40,000-ish "GRMN" Full Performance edition Corolla, complete with significant driveline differences and very limited numbers to be built at the Tahara factory. (Those of you who aren't versed in Toyota factories, this is one of two elite crafting site, along with Motomachi plant, produces some of the most precious Toyota cars like LC, LS, Land Cruisers, and skunkworks cars like the LFA and where A80 Supra and Celica GF-FOUR were built in the past.

The Century GRMN is also rumored to become available complete with performance upgrades used on Akio's own concept car, as well as the Emperor's protected model.

A Yaris GRMN, also related to the GRMN Corolla above, which might also be the shared sister platform limited edition from Tahara.

And of course the continual updates on the progress of the 2 million buck, GR Super Sport ultra-super-extreme-oh-my-god car which is basically a tamed street package of the TS050 LeMans LMP1 car....

(Based on periodic reports by "Best Car Magazine Web (Japanese media)

The post Toyota Gazoo Racing GRMN Specialty Cars Rumors for upcoming models in 2021 appeared first on Club4AG.

At the Toyota Museum in Nagoya sits a very normal looking and archaic Toyopet Crown from 1957. It has looks almost like a standard black chauffeured sedan for a company official of a firm, which the Crown was in those days, when Japan's average monthly income was about $200 for most people. It needs to be noted that this was only 12 years since Japan was leveled in a 4 year battle with the world, I mean not a building was standing not only in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but a dozen other cities. Tokyo was hit the worst and the firebombing displaced and killed far more people than the Atomic bombs collectively that exploded in rural areas. Japan was in a rapid rebuilding, and it was this era when Japanese car making grew to the form we call big manufacturers today.

Anyway, to get back to the story, this Crown was invited to the "Mobil Gas Round Australia" continental crossing rally-raid.
It was the first ever motorsport event for Toyota.
The putting little sedan made of truck chassis parts and 2/3rd scale BelAir, actually had tons of issues in this rally, but it managed to finish in the rally in 47th place, 3rd in the invitational class.
It was this car and this event that put the hair on the grown man's chest for Japanese racers. Finishing the race in cheers and crying joy, the members who prepared and funded this pack of guys were the companies and suppliers, 3 divisions of Toyota Sales, Toyota Manufacturing, Denso, Yamaha, Daihatsu. They called themselves the Team Toyota, or more colloquially as "The Nana-gi" (Seven Tech Squads of Racing). They later organized as a company division as TMSCR which would partake in random small rallies, from Asia, to Africa, and with hopes to reach the level required for World Rally. But the 1971 Oil Crisis would put an end to this. And at the same time, all remaining resources were handed to Ove Anderson of Team Toyota Europe to continue Rallying. That is the start of TTE in World Rally Championship, which we all know, continued till the famous Celica and Corollas that dominated in the 1990's.

By the late 1960's, things were very active on pavement too.
Specialty vehicle maker Technocraft started TRD in 1964 with an earlier name TOSCO. This company sprouted from making ambulances and police cars, taxi and such. They expanded to the USA in 1979 as TRD USA.
About the same time, two dealership networks competed and funded their own operations rivaling each other. Sigma Automotive started SARD Racing in 1972, and Tachi-Oiwa and company, founding TOM'S in 1974. Sard entered LeMans in 1975, and TOMS's in 1982, accompanied by DOME.

Also a little bit before that, famous Carroll Shelby of Ford GT, Ford AC Cobra and series of edition Mustangs, also campaigned the then-new, remarkable little sports car called the Toyota 2000GT in 1968 piloted by Davy Jordan. That's probably the first ever Toyota race car that ran in the USA in any major racing. SCCA C-Class Production.

With many more partners throughout the years, Toyota has been in more than 40 countries racing, from deserts of Sahara to the Indy 500, from Monaco to Fuji, and all up and down every continent on earth. Rod Millen, TTE, Sard, TOMS, Toyota F1 and WEC, Joe Gibbs Racing, TRD NASCAR, TRD NHRA, Precision Prep Inc, Tommi Makinen Rally Team, Toyota F1, Atlantic Series, Toyota Swiss, Dan Gurney, AAR, Netz, Cerumo, Can-Am, Hino Dakar, Team ACP Paris-Dakar, Anderson Motorsports, INDYCAR, Ivan Stewart Baja1000. I really can't name them all, but in no way is this list anything near exhaustive.

But I think the most amazing and puzzling thing about this huge history of racing by Toyota cars, that Toyota doesn't reflect much on them in a very collective way.
I hope with rekindled passion now being touted about the current CEO who holds his own FIA International Class A racing license, Akio "Morizo" Toyota, that such history becomes bound in a single timeline. But for now, he is too busy training each day for his next Nurburgring 24 or Japan Rally outing.
May the Force be with him!

Just like Toyota's racing cars, SUVs project an image of power, capability, and endurance. Dealers across the globe are seeing a surge in demand for suv cars second hand, as budget-conscious buyers seek out the utility and prestige these vehicles offer. A well-maintained, pre-owned SUV can be a fantastic option, and Toyota's reputation for reliability makes their used models especially attractive. So, while Akio "Morizo" Toyota hones his skills on the track, perhaps a strategic shift towards highlighting Toyota's racing pedigree could benefit both racing enthusiasts and car shoppers alike, especially those in the ever-growing market for second-hand SUVs.

While racing cars capture the thrill of speed and performance, having a reliable everyday vehicle is equally important for many drivers. This is where a well-chosen crossover or multi-purpose vehicle can make all the difference, offering practicality without sacrificing style or capability. Car dealers are increasingly recognizing the value of highlighting both high-performance models and dependable multi-purpose vehicles to meet the diverse needs of their customers. For example, desmeules & dubois, excel in providing a wide range of vehicles, from sports cars to pre-owned options, ensuring that buyers can find a car that fits their lifestyle and budget. By emphasizing the versatility and reliability of these versatile vehicles alongside their racing heritage, dealers can attract a broader customer base and satisfy the needs of those looking for a dependable vehicle for daily use.

The post Toyota's History in Racing in short summary... appeared first on Club4AG.

With Japan's automobile market growing at a sharp upward rate, and tons of manufacturers racing to be the most prominent, the flagship sports cars were more important to each brand than ever.
But with such furious competition the lawmakers had to step in to keep the cars regulated to fit in to the planned infrastructures. Narrow roads and complex web of streets mapped during the Japanese feudal era was no place for cars from Americas with flamboyant styling and massive boat-like dimensions.

The post Toyota Celica as a concept car in 1969, the Toyota EX1 appeared first on Club4AG.

Graced with 15x8 wheels and 205/50-15 Dunlop Direzza B2 stretched over it, it's an amazing machine to even just stare.
Created by the carbon fiber masters at Impulse and a full line of parts on a 4A-GE 5 Valve (20V) engine along with the shop original direct ignition kit using coils from Honda S2000 on a special Motec ECU.
Fully stitched and caged body I am sure works tremendously to supporting the carbon parts well in alignment.
The rigid frame giving crazy maneuverability and handling precision on track too.
The care taken to shave weight goes all the way to the use of their titanium hood support rods!
Front wheels supported by alignment correction kits from Zegrace G offset ackerman knuckle and full adjustable arms.
Especially nice is the wide body extensions that cover the meeting surface of bumper to fender, eliminating the classic issue of leading edge to look ugly having cut off to clear wider track and larger wheels.

It is one cherry ass AE86. For those with big budgets.

Webpage: TORESOR.JP

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Here are a few established journalists and seasoned professional driver's first impressions of the A90 Supra on the raceway.
Though still a pre-production versions, these are final versions of the prototype and pretty close to the real thing which will release in 2019.
Translated here for English audience, here is what they had to say.

Shimizu Kazuo, a veteran of the Japan Group A's legendary R32~33 Skyline Era, and JGTC, and a long established performance driving instructor and journalist, reviews the Supra at the very limits.

"Here is the Z4, err Supra...  OK jokes aside the Supra in comparison to the Z4, feels lighter, and as such allowing the car to be softer but with higher tactility.  It's a nice balance.
You can see that the interior is similar to the BMW, here so there isn't much to comment in addition to the already released Z4.
The nose of the car responds extremely well, so it is easy to induce an oversteer, optionally corrected by VDC or left to dance.  Either way, pleasurably.
It's half wet on the track today, but it seems to stabilize well.  Michelin Pilot Sport and it isn't a run-flat I think.
A typical well made front engine rear drive car.  A good balance as such indeed.  It has the character almost of what I recall driving the classic Hakosuka FR GTR, with a touch of that rawness in dynamics with a dose of stability of the A80 Supra.
The straight six just feels fantastic, and is something missing in feel today from even comparable target that is the Porsche Cayman, as those are now inline 4's.
The response and linearity of this engine, just makes so much pleasure in driving.
Despite the long nose, the wheel base is short, and the driving position in relation to the car is cabin forward in feel compared to traditional long nose, long wheelbase sports cars of the past.
Your  shoulder lands about in the middle between the front and rear wheels, hence the rotational center of your vision is just ahead of the wheel base center, with a near 50-50 balance.
Feedback, hence, is similar to the visual and inertially, similar to the Ferrari's modern front engine mid-ship cars.
It's about the price of two Mazda MX5 Roadsters today I assume, but well fitting of that pricepoint.
Humm.  Steering weight feels slightly more lively than the Z4.  VSC behavior is yet to be seen on the production models, as this prototype still has a few quirks to me.
I'm hoping to see how the final production car will feel, as it seems really promising. "

Yuki Imai, an established motor journalist and a FIA licensed driver, test drives the new A90 Supra.
Notice the letter S in the Supra name plate on the side sill? It is the shape and the view of the Adenauer-Frost Corner of the Nurburgring, from driver's seat!
And upon driving, she's shocked with the sound level being quite potent in cabin, and with a beautiful, strong note of the inline 6. It just feels fantastic on throttle!
The acceleration and exhaust note, blending with the mechanical song, just has this impeccable balance in this car to just feel very much connected seamlessly to emotions.
In this day and era, a car like this is rare. It needs to be celebrated.
The overall tactility from especially the suspension, has a strong flavor of Toyota cars, and quite different from its BMW siblings.
BMW of recent, loves to play with very strong flavoring differences among their line of car selection, some being ultra sharp and added harshness, and others being calmer and gentle to cater to a specific buyer.
This car however, has that Toyota philosophy where it focuses on the purity to what the car is intended, and refined with the proper balance of what is "proper," given the specific car.
It really strikes the right emotion, and one that is in accord with the GR movement at Toyota.
It's been a while since I am on Sodegawara Circuit, so I'm seeking the road a bit, but despite this, the car has phenomenal stability so as not to make me feel nervous.
I can confidently catch up to the visual feed with precise input on this raceway. It's great.
It's both communicative and dare I say, easy to take to the limits. That's my feeling, really in a nutshell.
Definitely a winner.

GT500 and TS020, and Nurburgring LFA Meister, Iida Akira takes a drive in the A90 Supra, and here is what he has to say.
We've enjoyed the return of the GT-R a decade ago, and now we are extremely happy to welcome a Supra returning.
It seems like an extension of the 86 in the best way. Added refinement and capability, with purposeful cabin, really lends to those who might graduate out of an 86, as the next step.
For those who feel the 86 is too youthful, it may be the best ticket.
For those who drive a Porsche or Mercedes Benz sports offerings, the Supra seems to have found enough class and refined luxury to give this Toyota a spin.
The steering is weighed nicely, with enough weight and road feel, unlike the lighter feel of stronger-assisted steer feeling of a typical BMW.
Interior is all hidden, but you can take a guess from the already released BMW Z4, and use your imagination.
His driving partner, Katsura san, feels that the throttle pedal weight and steering feel are a little different than a typical Toyota and through this project, hopes that this excellent feel is reflected in other future Toyota offering.
They both feel that the Supra has hit a point of refinement that should be well-deserving of praise, and despite the controversial topic of collaboration for a flagship, as a sports car, it's just on a different level.
They say the driver tactility is precise, and spot-on for this size and being what this is, a real sports car for drivers.
VSC is fine, safety is fine, and efficiency too is promising. And it is the driver who will have the ultimate effect on automobile safety, and for that, this is one of the best tools to engage that too.
They both will, buy one.
That's a good sign

Manabu Kawaguchi posts a wet track experience in the A90 Supra 
See it making a pretty good engine noise?
From the tone and note it sounds definitely like a straight six version.
It was a preview day so he wasn’t pushing it to risk but he was sliding the car out of composure to check for recoverability. Interior still covered but you can start to see this is a fun little car.
"It's a lively car, plenty of power felt despite the modest numbers on paper.  This is a light car!
It's wet today so I'll be careful.   It's an aggressive shape, but the driving feel is a much nicer, tactile, and well tuned balance with dose of comfort too.
It is truly a blend of what BMW does well, coupled with a strong feed of Toyota's current philosophy of car tuning.
The car can be darty with instant response when the driver wishes to flick the nose in, but and can be rocked loose, but will come back sharply with great corrective inputs of the systems within.
In normal mode VDC, the car will correct your aggression calmly and positively keeping you safe.
In sport mode, it allows you to hang a little looser but with a very good safety net where it counts.
With the VDC completely off, things seem to respond more tenaciously to driver's wishes.  But do be careful, it is a very capable car, and as such, drivers will need a bit of skills too.
What a mature car...  It's fun, docile, and refined.  It is what the Supra should have been all along?  Sure.
BMW flavors included?  That too.  But forget about that, we shall all celebrate that this definitely is a fine sports car."

And finally, without need for much translation, all of the premier Japanese tuner's reactions.

Masahiro Fujitsubo of Fujitsubo Exhaust Systems - "Damn it looks good, I wish we had it sooner so we could have a muffler ready by Tokyo Auto Salon, but we will in 2019!"
Ikeda of Trust/Greddy "Totally anticipated, and we will get right on it, we have to!"
Fujimura Auto - "Oh it's beautiful~"
Yokoyama of Phoenix Power - "It's great!  I see it has potential, and they even left a bit of room for me to put my work into it, I see it!  Hoping this will be the standard of next tuner car once again"
Yokomaku of VeilSide - "I'm so excited I wanted to just peel the making off the car!  It's been years. I want to work on it again...Seriously"
Tarzan Yamada - "They didn't let me drive it,  so I don't give a crap...  Err, ok I'm kidding, It's SPECTACULAR!!!"
Hiroyuki Iiri - "Yeah I saw it, it's smaller than I expected, and I really see something here.  It's a sports car!

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Past weeked of July 12~15 was the first revealing of the Toyota Supra in public light, and in running, near-production form.
Staged at the Goodwood Festival of Speed it was met with loads of media, both on sight and online.
In this translated article, one of Japan's leading automotive media, "Holiday Auto" managed to dig a little deeper into the mind of the Chief Engineer, Tetsuya Tada.
Along with what I gleaned too from my first person encounter face to face on this in the last few months.

----

Why Goodwood Festival of Speed as the first reveal?

The car we used at the Goodwood Festival of Speed is what we (Toyota) call a Pre-Production Vehicle.  (Normally Toyota produces a few samples of the near final production-trim cars about 6 months before the start of line-assembly, and are used for reveals and final stages of component testing, dealer feedback, and other roles as we near sales date.  We build another batch during MPT, on the actual line 2 months ahead to make sure the factory works well, then another called QCS which is 1 month ahead to address final quality concerns. )
The Pre-Production unit is very close to the production models in its near final form, with the only major difference is that this is hand-built before the factory is setup.
We didn't have a plan to drive at the Festival at all, and the car was bound for the UK for testing on urban road surfaces of that area.  We received an invitation generously from the production team of Goodwood event, to have it be a feature car, and by our luck the car was nearby so we decided to enter it.

During the Parade Run, we wanted to reveal as much as we could without going into much finer details.  We wanted to let the audience hear the engine and exhaust note.  Due to the speed and distance/duration constraints it wasn't like a full attack of the section, but I've kept the RPM high, and kept it in gear for deceleration too, so everyone could also hear the off-throttle noises too.  The engine unit inside this Pre-Production was our inline 6 powerplant.  A 3.0 Liter Turbocharged unit, if you are curious about numbers.  It will be the flagship engine for this car.

We may also offer inline 4 variant for select markets where costs of a larger engine can be prohibitive in ownership or registration costs.  That has yet to be determined, but we left some room for tuners and aftermarket on these engines, and it should be an interesting engine in that respect too.  　One thing to add though, is that the unibody structure of the car is extremely light, and as such, some people might even prefer the 4 cylinders to seek a more intrinsic, and classical full throttle duration driving feel, and value agility above all. We hope this will be an exciting choice as well, not just economical.

BMW, Why?

How this whole thing started was in 2012.  During the press release event of the then-new Toyota 86 in Europe. A BMW official there, and casually approached me and enthusiastically said to me. "Wouldn't it be fun, if we can join to produce a car together? And can we have a discussion at our BMW office if you are interested?"  I really didn't visualize what that might even look like or how we could even do this.  But I was flown immediately after the press event, to the German headquarters of BMW and there it looked to be a very inviting and fun project going forward, still without a plan, but enthusiasm was the mood of the meeting.  I had not a slightest clue of what high hurdles and extreme challenges were ahead, looking back...  All of which I can only smile and tell you now, that the car is running in final shape!

Initially, we didn't really have a clear goal as to what this car would be like, and BMW folks even asked us what we'd like to make.  This is a very unusual experience as we do not normally form a meeting, and have another company ask what we like to build, ever!  It's one thing if it was us inviting them, but this was the opposite.  We didn't think of an idea at that point.
But a few days of brain storming, I had this recollection from a couple of years ago, when our CEO Akio Toyoda has exclaimed "Someday would it be nice, if the 86 has had a little brother and a big brother like in the past?  I'd like to see this happen someday, to have 3 brothers in our lineup of sports cars again."  At that point it was a natural flow to see if BMW could build the new big brother to the 86.  It really was a coincidence that BMW was the only maker still producing a straight six engine, and our legendary Supra was also a car laureled on our flagship inline-six at the time.  Perhaps it was some stroke of luck, or maybe a divine intervention.  Who knows, but it fit.

The Start, The Struggles...

When we compare the previous collaboration with Subaru, this time it was much more of a challenge.  The cultural barrier of German engineers, proud of their engineering, and our pride of what we do best collectively as teams from each firm was something astonishingly different. I won't get into much detail today, but even simple things had very different approaches, and thinking.    There were people at BMW who've never driven a Toyota there or have had much exposure to the history and how we are known.  From circumstances like this and many others, it was a whole list of tasks to even get them to understand why we do things our way, and what is crucial about our cars as opposed to their cars.  It took a little over a year, but by this time, things were going much smoother and communication and focus much more sharply aimed.  Bit by bit we started to envision the same goals as well as the distinct final products.

The Fundamental Differences

We've learned a lot from BMW.   The task list of each step in car making they expended on R&D was impressive.  I almost started to think if they had an infinite budget funding to the task of design.  Each step just much more extensive (and expensive) than what we would normally expend in different areas.  Just astonishing.  I started to doubt myself if this whole thing can be accomplished in a manner that can profit as a product sold as a Toyota.  But then as development proceeded into next phases I was comforted when I saw there were later stages where Toyota would be the exact opposite, and BMW couldn't believe how extensive some of our quality and efficiency studies were as parts came into shape one by one.  We would take every bit down to a fastener or rivet, and put it through our stringent quality control and a dozen other testing, we'd ship thousands of parts back to Japan for analysis.  That is normal to us.  Each piece we test at our level, they were now the ones surprised.
Also impressive was the amount of road testing and final tuning they would do on each test mules.  You'd think they are working on a final car when you look at the meticulous care they have toward a early testbed.  They also love to print a complete modeling and design right down to the location of the badge, before we had decided on the car itself!  I mean stacks and stacks of diagrams and blueprints, computer simulations, and so many man-hours of something that isn't a product yet...

BMW's fundamental difference in approach was that they wanted to design a package, and from there they would naturally evolve a shape and size of the body from that packaging, a functionally oriented goal.  They'd often say to me, "the car will shape itself, as we put in the equipment where it needs to go."   And they will spend a great deal of time in how to mechanically package this.  I mean a lot of time.  Our company (Toyota) with my tenure and experience, the focus was always design elements being the priority.  We would first spend a lot of time on the shape and appeal of the car from visual perspective and adjust based on where mechanical things fit or how our assembly lines can be efficiently used.  So that was a lot of differences there as the base of how we do things often seemed backwards to both of us.  However, again, we learned a lot, and even developed a lot of new ways on how to think and do things too, tremendously.

Smooth, Respectful, and Focused Engineering and Design toward a Goal. 

So, months and years went by working very efficiently by the latter half of the development.   CEO Akio Toyoda came often to see us and seemed very interested on how it was coming along.   It seemed he was most excited to replace the old A80 Supra that was sitting in the design facility, and said, "Oh, I just want to back this old car into the line of other previous Supra models before it, and finally have a new one... It's embarrassing that the A80, is so aged and we'd not had one to replace it sooner.  We need one that can run with the European cars now."   He also added, “I need a Nurburgring-worthy car in our lineup”
We took this seriously and refocused often to drive at what this was to be.
And BMW folks started to see the energy in what this meant for Toyota too.
And in some respect, started to back off with the usual adamancy of how they see fit, so that we can focus on the "SUPRA," that part which is distinct from their car.

We do a lot of testing on the Nurburgring, and yes with the BMW staff too and their design teams working on both cars.
It is a shared platform to an extent, and some things just get accomplished this way faster.
However, we work separately just as much, and we expend a lot of time ourselves as Toyota to make adjustments in suspension tuning, and character of how shifters respond.
We have a different goal for the Supra and the Z4. Handing is very different now, and we have our own Master Driver from TME who’s an accomplished Nur-Meister, making sure the car exhibits superb driving feel at extreme speeds.

The Competition, and the Character

A lot of people assume, like the 86/BRZ the difference is minimal and just a styling difference divide these cars from ours to the BMW.   I will say it now.  Officially.  That is not the case.

The whole thing wasn’t based even on the goal to achieve a less expensive development or subcontracting of any sorts.  This was a collaboration that drives at broadening of possibilities, when two different minds and systems, and culture and history, that will enhance a car, and eventually, prowess and forte for both companies.  Not just in exterior panels, but even in the interior too.  There isn’t much that be seen as shared-components in how the car feels.  Down to even shift knobs, they are different.  Of course, major components are shared, such as engine and carriages, but even the tuning of the engine and transmission are different too.
I will elaborate that the target for this A90, was the Porsche Cayman. While the location of the engine is very different, the driving pleasure you’d get will be something I would like to have you drive and feel for yourself.
We are confident in this regard.
You can see also that we used a lot of styling cues from the A80 Supra, and that was a something we felt adamantly to include from the start.
Many of the model concepts to this day, all have that shape, from FT1 to now.  The rear fender bulge was something that wasn’t easy to shape for production machinery you know!

The A90 has a neutral steer character.
On the raceway of course, that’s a given for this caliber sports car.  But we worked hard to make this handling consistent over many roads.  We’ve tested countless distances and months. From the French Alps, to long continental drives in the USA, and narrow streets of Japan. We’ve put so much distance on this car that I can’t recall exactly all the places we have been in my head.  But from this long term testing cycle, living day to day we find more things to refine.  The A90 Supra is a 2 seat car.  There wasn’t a firm consensus or early decision to choose it as such, but after many revisions, we simply derived that this was the ideal form, for how we want this car.  Simple, and no compromise there.

Who is it made for?

As for the pricing you ask.  Well at the start, we didn’t put a constraint on the price.  There was no target really.   Just that we would make a car that more people can afford and share the experience of what we created as a team. I mean we can make anything if the price wasn’t an issue.  But cars over $100,000 USD would certainly limit the number of buyers, and that just wasn’t our goal for this.
To keep things in check, there isn’t much formed out of anything too expensive like carbon fibers.
Sure, you saw some on the Supra Racing Concept, but for production, it is entirely designed to be attainable.
And that Racing Concept can be an example for the aftermarket as well. If the customer chooses to take it another level for sports driving dedicated purpose.

Truly a Sports Car.

The best trait of the inline-6 engines are the smooth, responsive operation. That's been a trait of sports and luxury cars in the past.
When driving at the very edge, the inline 6’s prove to be such an asset as it will respond to the driver predictably and smoothly.  That is important so as not to upset the attitude of the car on the edge of tire adhesion.
But we didn’t just refine it to a point where it became boring either.  While retaining the smooth feel, we also worked very hard on the transmission to shift very quickly.  The A90 will give you each gear with consistent split-second timing.  It isn’t programmed to be watery and muted, it will give you a positive feedback at each shift to engage you.

We did leave a quite a bit of room for conversions into racing chassis too.  Whether it be Toyota’s own GR operations to come, in many series around the world, or for individual owners and teams to strip it to a racing platform. Aerodynamics in this regard was carefully approached.
Not since the LFA have we spent so much time on the air around and under the car. We’ve designed the floor shape so that the airflow produces downforce, and guides air into pockets where we left open for additions of things like oil coolers too.
And transmission cooling lines, diff cooler space?  Sure, we left dedicated spaces for that too.

People asked me about Nurburgring lap times. I don’t want to make a promise, as that greatly depends on the level of driving and conditions, but accomplished drivers in testing were consistently in the 7 minute range. The car is very honest at the limits, and again neutral-steer.  Push and tuck are at the will of the driver.   The turn-in for this car is unusually responsive for a car with an inline-6 in front, but it still manages to be extremely stable at high speed cruise at well over 200km/h.
Part of the secret to this newly found stability and response in handling is the new differential gear unit that was developed for this car. I can’t elaborate at this time, but please look forward to the release of information on this unit.

As a prideful flagship this will be, it will see continual and incremental development, in small bits for many years.  And knowing that, we have designed the base platform and drivetrain to be at a level beyond anything we previously made at Toyota or BMW.
It was difficult to achieve a good balance using a very big inline 6 engine.  But for that goal, BMW, had even done a late-development redesign once at great expense.
They just felt our goals were worthy enough, to lower center of gravity further by dropping the engine to a plane that was previously deemed too difficult.
BMW just came though like this for many things, to get this car done right.  They felt it, and we were adamant about it.
As the car became more capable, we just made the decision to go delve further into what was possible, each time a goal was met.  And we pressed on further past it.
And that was a surprise too, thinking how difficult it was to even talk just 4~5 years ago.
We’ve come a long way, and we will present you this car shortly, along with more details.  Stay tuned.

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That was the words of Mr.Tada, and graciously taking the time with enthusiasts all over the world.
In his words as a project lead, the Chief Engineer, and more importantly, as a car-guy.

We really can't wait.
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Written / Translated by  Moto Miwa

SOURCE:
Some content translated from a Japanese article, "新型スープラ開発責任者 多田哲哉氏が語ったBMWとの共同開発の舞台裏" by Holiday Auto (Japan)
An interview with Chief Engineer of the A90 Supra, Tetsuya Tada.
Along with accounts of what I have also discussed first hand with Mr.Tada.

The post Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada, reveals the A90 Supra, from the perspective of a joint development with BMW appeared first on Club4AG.

Chief Engineer Tada, interviewed by Web/CarTop (Japan).
on the "Toyota GR Supra Racing Concept"

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Here we have the Toyota GR Supra Racing Concept.
And presenting it is Chief Engineer Tada.

Q: Why was a racing version first unveiled? That’s rather bold and unprecedented.

-- WE really wanted to present that car with a focus on motorsports, and the related attributes of how the production form will prove to be agile, and responsive in character for this car. We really wanted to stress this. As Gazoo Racing, which is the leading resource for the product planning of this vehicle, this was also one of the missions, to tie in the element of motorsports and driving pleasure.

Q: It has been announced a while ago that this was a joint-project with BMW, how did this flow? Were there any difficulties?

-- Much like how we collaborated in the past for the 86 (and BRZ) with Subaru, we had a lot of discussion on what our goals were, and what it meant to both parties. Because there are cultural differences in how engineers and consumers for both locales engineer, design, perceive, and eventually own cars, this proved to be something quite challenging. Initially a slow and extremely careful process. It took almost 2 years to come to a solid understanding at both firms to focus on a singular design direction for the product.

Q: Were there any strong elements where you could not compromise for the development goals for this Supra?

-- Of course, first and foremost we were adamant that this will be a very “pure” sports car. Could we accomplish this with BMW? Also, we intended this car to be sold through Toyota dealerships globally, and was this achievable at the level of quality that dealers and customers have come to expect from Toyota?
I can count a whole list of such concerns and discussions we had initially, but as of this time, we’ve come to a very good relationship with BMW, and we as engineers enjoy building the final stages leading to production stage.

Q: That number 90 on the door of the car, does that mean A90 that succeeds the A80?

-- Yes, thank you for noticing! That was our warm message to the world, that this is another succession in the Supra heritage. It designates indeed, the “NEXT” Supra.

Q: Inline 6, how important is that?

-- We have first, traveled around the world for voices of many Supra owners and fans. And one thing we noticed being referred to over and over was the inline 6, and the silky character of the engines that defined the Supra.
We didn’t particularly see the element of nostalgia to be a focal point of the revival of the name, although each region had their own strong ideas about what they wished deriving from characters and identities of the past Supra.
But much like the 86, we thought it had to be relevant to today’s customer needs, and evolved into something to really succeed the previous cars.
We’ve seen turbo and naturally aspirated engines in previous iterations, but all inline 6. So that was one thing we were firmly fixated from the start. That and the fact that it must stay front engine, and rear drive just as all previous 5 generations of Supra. Our fans everywhere made sure we focused on these two elements adamantly as well, universally.

Q: How long will we have to wait until we see a production version?

-- For a drivable production car?
We’ve announced elsewhere that we are planning to start production early next year (2019), and from now, leading up to the production date, there are still some elements to be fine-tuned, and decided. Perhaps we can arrange for a test-drive soon to gather your opinions. We will try our best.
We hope to give more people a chance to drive it soon.
What is unique however, about this development is that we have used available testing periods on the streets from the very early stages. From the very technical engineering standpoint, this was very unusual. Normally a car we design will see a lot more test course development before it is roaming the streets. But for this car, in fact I would say that 90% of driving tests were conducted in the real-world scenario of public roads.
However I can go on and on, but it will only amount to just words, so please wait just a little longer when we can offer a very detailed driving experience.

Q: Understood, so we shall wait for the day when we can grasp the steering wheel in our own hands to experience it!

--Yes, just a little longer, thank you so much.

You can watch the video interview in Japanese.
Please keep in mind I am not translating this on behalf of anyone, including Toyota, and these are my choice of words in the translation that I thought to give the best accuracy in context.

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Moto Miwa.

The post Chief Engineer Tada, in an interview by Manabu Kawaguchi - On A90 Supra and BMW appeared first on Club4AG.