The A70TTR Dedication Thread!

[Lexusisf]

Thats true too,

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[greaseman]

That's kind of disappointing, the big wang was my favorite part of the a80. I guess I can always just slap one on there, I'm sure someone on eBay will have me covered.

 

[HKz]

That's kind of disappointing, the big wang was my favorite part of the a80. I guess I can always just slap one on there, I'm sure someone on eBay will have me covered.

hmm? think you misunderstood...the previous posts were specifically talking about a retractable/active wing so I'm pretty sure MK5 will have a big wing option especially considering they offer one on the 86/BRZ special editions..

retractable/active wing..

 

[greaseman]

hmm? think you misunderstood...the previous posts were specifically talking about a retractable/active wing so I'm pretty sure MK5 will have a big wing option especially considering they offer one on the 86/BRZ special editions..

I figured they'd have one on the GR version similar to the one in the concept but I'd be surprised if there were an option with a wing made of the same material as the rest of the car, like the a80. It'll probably just be carbon fiber.

 

[vb22]

I have a question for A70TTR. Years ago there were rumors of a V6 and V8 Supra convertible and coupe. (I'm guessing SC430 based). Was there any truth behind this, or was it just a silly rumor started by BestCar? Thanks

 

[Captain_Kirk]

I also wondered why we never got a Z40 SC430 based MKV. Historically isn't the Soarer and Supra closely related?

 

[A70TTR]

good questions.

because the sales of the A80 were so much lower than A70, Toyota decided that was going to be the last halo sports car for a long time. They then famously put all efforts into economy cars, and this was commonly known as the appliance era. Common knowledge more or less...

Prior to that however, yes, the A chassis and Z chassis were both closely related, sharing the same platform and many components therein as a result. There was an issue with this starting with the A80 though, in that engineering did not want to use a heavy luxury car platform for what was considered internally as a successor to the 2000GT. Management did not care and forced the engineers to use the platform anyways and instead told them to focus on improving it versus condemning it. This compromise was definitely at odds with what the car was supposed to achieve and is interesting as maybe it would have been a lighter weight sports car instead of GT, but at the end of the day they made it work the best they could.

With SC430, there was still a business case for the car unlike the A80, but as we saw sales were pretty low and that car was all around odd IMO.

In time, both cars more or less fell out of favor, both publicly and with upper management, which is why the LC500 exists. It is an SC successor in every way, and they considered naming it as such before deciding to move to a new nomenclature altogether.

As to why the LC platform wasn't used for a new Supra likely stems back to that A80 vs Z30 mindset of not wanting performance compromise, perhaps Lexus not wanting to share chassis (possible but unlikely), and that Toyota wanted to trade tech and costs with another company a la 86, and so with all factors coming together we have the present situation. Compromise none the less, but perhaps not as much depending on how you look at goals for a given model.

 

[Jdmuscle]

Hey A70... I have a rather interesting question for ya.. with my purchase of the Viper, Z06 and the Shelby I got a free day of racing school driving session courtesy of the manufacturer. And ford even sent me a miniature crank and some nice cool memorabilia for buying the vehicle. Is Toyota planning to make the Supra purchase a special one for the buyer? Maybe a day at a track with a Supra and some cool stuff to make the ownership a special one?

 

[Guff]

Hey A70... I have a rather interesting question for ya.. with my purchase of the Viper, Z06 and the Shelby I got a free day of racing school driving session courtesy of the manufacturer. And ford even sent me a miniature crank and some nice cool memorabilia for buying the vehicle. Is Toyota planning to make the Supra purchase a special one for the buyer? Maybe a day at a track with a Supra and some cool stuff to make the ownership a special one?

Maybe with the NASCAR integration, we'll get to do some laps at Texas Motor Speedway

Yea but for real, Toyota USA, this would be cool. Some of the events from back in the Scion days were awesome, and many of us would love to see that manufacturer support at the community level again.

 

[Jdmuscle]

Maybe with the NASCAR integration, we'll get to do some laps at Texas Motor Speedway

Yea but for real, Toyota USA, this would be cool. Some of the events from back in the Scion days were awesome, and many of us would love to see that manufacturer support at the community level again.

Texas world speedway is filled with flooded cars.. thank to Harvey. Lol

 

[Lexusisf]

Yes...and for our us Canadians also

 

[A70TTR]

That's something sales/marketing would likely handle, but I can definitely see that being a thing given the clientele and competition.

The 86 may have had that sort of thing in other countries, but I can't remember. I don't think they did anything in N.A.

 

[Patchaaron]

Texas world speedway is filled with flooded cars.. thank to Harvey. Lol

so demo derby beforehand?

 

[vb22]

good questions.

because the sales of the A80 were so much lower than A70, Toyota decided that was going to be the last halo sports car for a long time. They then famously put all efforts into economy cars, and this was commonly known as the appliance era. Common knowledge more or less...

Prior to that however, yes, the A chassis and Z chassis were both closely related, sharing the same platform and many components therein as a result. There was an issue with this starting with the A80 though, in that engineering did not want to use a heavy luxury car platform for what was considered internally as a successor to the 2000GT. Management did not care and forced the engineers to use the platform anyways and instead told them to focus on improving it versus condemning it. This compromise was definitely at odds with what the car was supposed to achieve and is interesting as maybe it would have been a lighter weight sports car instead of GT, but at the end of the day they made it work the best they could.

With SC430, there was still a business case for the car unlike the A80, but as we saw sales were pretty low and that car was all around odd IMO.

In time, both cars more or less fell out of favor, both publicly and with upper management, which is why the LC500 exists. It is an SC successor in every way, and they considered naming it as such before deciding to move to a new nomenclature altogether.

As to why the LC platform wasn't used for a new Supra likely stems back to that A80 vs Z30 mindset of not wanting performance compromise, perhaps Lexus not wanting to share chassis (possible but unlikely), and that Toyota wanted to trade tech and costs with another company a la 86, and so with all factors coming together we have the present situation. Compromise none the less, but perhaps not as much depending on how you look at goals for a given model.

Thanks for in-depth reply. I was just expecting a yes or a no lol.

Now I see why they wanted to go with the lighter platform and a two seater layout; to stay true to the 2000GT.

Just a quick follow up. Back to the SC430 for a moment. Some feel that the SC430 got neglected by Toyota over the years. What I mean is like when both the SL500 and 640i got updated to the SL550 and 650i; Toyota never follow suit with a "SC460". They also didn't offer a high performance version like with the SL55 AMG and M6. A more recent example is no drop top and hatchback 86, also why show off these two concepts if they have no plans to produce them? Design exercise, hype building, public awareness, consumer feedback, or a little of all of the above? Always, back on-point; many here have said time after time Toyota fails to update a car, sales decline, public loses interests, Toyota blames the market and goes to the chopping block. So my follow up question is what mistakes has Toyota learned from past offerings, and how do they plan to avoid them this time around?

 

[Jdmuscle]

Yes.. agreed with the above. Blaming the market is the easy way out and not seeing the actual problem.

Looks at toyota’s current line up.. Camry, RAV4, Corolla sell very well and they get updated etc.

Sequoia, 4Runner, LC (got a recent update but lackluster one), Tundra are no way in sync with where the market is. Isn’t SUVs all the rage these days?? Why ignore these guys for 12yrs now.. come on!!

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