Interviews with Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada

[jm6k]

interesting idea with the celica name as a lower trim though although I cant imagine a celica costing more then the 86.

Their naming lineage is so screwed up at this point it doesn't matter, but the 86 goes back to the AE86 Corolla (I'm sure you know this, I'm just going back the start here). The Corolla was below the Celica so it would make sense for a Celica to slot in above the 86. My opinion is there already was a Corolla, they should have just called the 86 a Celica to begin with. Seems like most people don't remember the 1st gen Celica though so they figured they'd do better with the AE86 following.

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[GT-Remi]

I've had faith in this car since the first test mule

Call me loyal, I've had faith in Toyota reviving their sports car lineup since Akio-Sans first mention of the "Three Brothers" during the GT-86/FR-S/BRZ launch celebration. I am happy that the lines of the mule, especially the side profile, are matching up very nicely to the FT-1. As a big F1 fan, my initial reaction to the nose of the FT-1 concept was that maybe, Toyota was hinting another go at Formula 1. I mean, they are back in the WRC and doing pretty damn well.

I would really be surprised if it wasn't called a 'Supra'. I believe thats the only name they have trademarked. But than again, everyone thought the FR-S/86 was going to be the new 'Celica'.

I agree with you. I don't think Toyota would want to mess with the legacy of the supra. It might be a supra successor (kind off) but might not use the name supra. Just like the Lexus SC became the LC.

Their naming lineage is so screwed up at this point it doesn't matter, but the 86 goes back to the AE86 Corolla (I'm sure you know this, I'm just going back the start here). The Corolla was below the Celica so it would make sense for a Celica to slot in above the 86. My opinion is there already was a Corolla, they should have just called the 86 a Celica to begin with. Seems like most people don't remember the 1st gen Celica though so they figured they'd do better with the AE86 following.

To piggyback on metzgers post, the FT-86 (FutureToyota-86 concept), which eventually was called the GT-86/86 (production), was meant to be the "spiritual successor" to the Toyota Corolla Levin/Toyota Sprinter Trueno or most popularly known by its chassis code, "AE86". It is constantly mentioned that this "thing" we've been following is going to be a spiritual successor to the Supra. If Toyota decides to follow this naming methodology, I don't believe it will be called the Supra. Other than the Mk.XX designations, the Supra didn't have any other pop "nicknames" to my knowledge. Although they trademarked the "Supra" name, Toyota MKV sounds more fitting and menacing IMO.

GT-Supra, Supra-GT, MKV, Toyota 1, Toyota RZ, this weekend couldn't come any quicker hahahaha

 

[Spilner]

Call me loyal, I've had faith in Toyota reviving their sports car lineup since Akio-Sans first mention of the "Three Brothers" during the GT-86/FR-S/BRZ launch celebration. I am happy that the lines of the mule, especially the side profile, are matching up very nicely to the FT-1. As a big F1 fan, my initial reaction to the nose of the FT-1 concept was that maybe, Toyota was hinting another go at Formula 1. I mean, they are back in the WRC and doing pretty damn well.







To piggyback on metzgers post, the FT-86 (FutureToyota-86 concept), which eventually was called the GT-86/86 (production), was meant to be the "spiritual successor" to the Toyota Corolla Levin/Toyota Sprinter Trueno or most popularly known by its chassis code, "AE86". It is constantly mentioned that this "thing" we've been following is going to be a spiritual successor to the Supra. If Toyota decides to follow this naming methodology, I don't believe it will be called the Supra. Other than the Mk.XX designations, the Supra didn't have any other pop "nicknames" to my knowledge. Although they trademarked the "Supra" name, Toyota MKV sounds more fitting and menacing IMO.

GT-Supra, Supra-GT, MKV, Toyota 1, Toyota RZ, this weekend couldn't come any quicker hahahaha

I was thinking Toyota A1

 

[Spilner]

I was thinking Toyota A1

better yet AT1

 

[GT-Remi]

better yet AT1

Steak sauce? Hahahaha. I really don't think they will call it a Supra.

 

[Spilner]

Steak sauce? Hahahaha. I really don't think they will call it a Supra.

Wanna just come up with potential names?

 

[GT-Remi]

Wanna just come up with potential names?

Toyota Supra MKV RZ ///M Coupe Targa roadster CS GT!

 

[Spilner]

Toyota Supra MKV RZ ///M Coupe Targa roadster CS GT!

Toyota supra MKV GT1 XDrive sport

 

[GT-Remi]

Toyota supra MKV GT1 XDrive sport

Gran i liftback with vanos-tl-i!

 

[Spilner]

Gran i liftback with vanos-tl-i!

Electric drive

 

[supraboi]

Speaking to Tetsuya Tada

The Geneva show gave us the opportunity to discuss the Supra further with the car's chief engineer, Tetsuya Tada. While Tada and the company are still being cagey at this stage, the chat was encouraging, and helped to illustrate that despite the car's co-development with the BMW Z4, Toyota's effort will be a very different car to its Bavarian counterpart.

How much can you say about the differences between the Z4 and Supra?

Unlike the GT86 co-developed with Subaru, with BMW we first decided on the concept of the car that each company would like to develop separately. Once these concepts were clear we looked into which parts could be common between the two projects - and the number of common parts and elements are much fewer than many may imagine.

Presumably it’s going to share the engine architecture, so how has Toyota developed the engine, suspension etc differently from BMW? Is it a more focused car?

From our side Toyota wanted to make a pure sports car, and BMW has a slightly different direction. Engine calibration is quite different between the two cars. Even if the hardware is the same in some elements, the calibration is completely different - the driving experience will be very different to the Z4.

Which other models have been benchmarked, and is there any reference to previous versions of the Supra?

We looked into Porsches - the 911 for example. As for previous Supras, we’re aware that there’s a huge fanbase for previous Supras, so we’ve interviewed them to hear their expectations before we started the project. People told us they wanted a six-cylinder engine and a front-engined, rear-drive layout.

Will it be offered with a manual gearbox?

We’re still in discussion about these details, so we don’t know what the final production car will use yet.

Is there any likelihood of a hybrid powertrain?

We are considering not only hybrid but also other powertrain tech, EVs, fuel cells etc. We’re looking at all these possibilities for our future sports cars.

The Supra will be sold under Gazoo Racing rather than as a Toyota. Given the love for the Supra as a Toyota product, why the branding difference?

It’s not our intention to change the brand, but we created GR as a dedicated sports car brand under Toyota, so it makes sense for all Toyota’s future models to be sold under the GR brand.

How much of the GT86 development has assisted in developing the Supra?

In terms of the number of engineers just a few, but we’ve taken on new engineers too, and the GT86 itself has been a significant factor in allowing us to develop the Supra. The reason we took on new members for this project was because most engineers dream of developing a sports car in their life, so we wanted to give this opportunity to our younger engineers.

Have you taken tuning into account during the development of the new car? Will there be aspects people can customise?

Just as with the 86, we have the same message with the new car - we’d really like people to tune the car themselves.

Will there be any factory modifications, or are you letting the aftermarket take over?

It’s difficult to define what is a brand or maker-approved modification. It was a concern we had with the GT86, but once it was launched on the market we learned that users on the market have quite high standards and respect the car, so the aftermarket developed on its own. I hope the same will happen with the Supra. With the GT86 we didn’t have to interfere too much into the market and what the users were doing - so as a brand we’re not likely to interfere with the market too much either.

http://www.evo.co.uk/toyota/toyota-...ept-chief-engineer-tada-interviewed-at-geneva

 

[vb22]

For those that missed it, this was the interview that @Guff found. I think its a good idea if we just all post interviews here on this thread.

Huge thanks to Moto-San for the translation!


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.

 

[A70TTR]

hmmmmmmmm

"Will it be offered with a manual gearbox?

We’re still in discussion about these details, so we don’t know what the final production car will use yet."

 

[Guff]

This Evo interview is my favorite one so far. They asked the right questions. Namely these:

How much can you say about the differences between the Z4 and Supra?

Unlike the GT86 co-developed with Subaru, with BMW we first decided on the concept of the car that each company would like to develop separately. Once these concepts were clear we looked into which parts could be common between the two projects - and the number of common parts and elements are much fewer than many may imagine.

Presumably it’s going to share the engine architecture, so how has Toyota developed the engine, suspension etc differently from BMW? Is it a more focused car?

From our side Toyota wanted to make a pure sports car, and BMW has a slightly different direction. Engine calibration is quite different between the two cars. Even if the hardware is the same in some elements, the calibration is completely different - the driving experience will be very different to the Z4.

Also, this makes me very happy,

How much of the GT86 development has assisted in developing the Supra?

In terms of the number of engineers just a few, but we’ve taken on new engineers too, and the GT86 itself has been a significant factor in allowing us to develop the Supra. The reason we took on new members for this project was because most engineers dream of developing a sports car in their life, so we wanted to give this opportunity to our younger engineers.

In these industries, it's very difficult for young engineers to be able to get their ideas and input across (Hell, Tada-San was making vans for a while), and for him to actively bring them on board is really fantastic in my opinion. I've been involved in the industry for a long time and I know how difficult it can be.

 

[MA617M]

Yeah, given we know a flash tune does wonders for the B58, I wonder where the output will end up. Even a big FMIC would make a difference. Biggset hurdle will be euro emissions.

Manual gearbox.... hmmm... There certainly has been a lot of noise since the GR concept unveiling, let us hope

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