Where do you think the BMW/Toyota car will be built at?

  • Japan

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • Europe

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • US

    Votes: 4 66.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    6
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FRS-Man

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I can't imagine a Scion with a CF platform. Might be too costly?? Unless they really do move the whole brand upmarket I guess.

But Toyota sends mixed signals with Scion. One moment it's supposed to be the youth oriented 'experimental brand', the next it's supposed to move upmarket.

Thought they turned a corner and things were looking up when the RWD FR-S came along. Then they introduce an 'all new' car like the Scion iM which is nothing but a FWD Auris with a different body. :crazy::bonk:
Toyota supposed to unveil a new Scion at the NY show next month -- its first sedan. I wonder if it'll possibly be RWD on the FR-S platform or maybe even the joint Toyota/BMW platform??
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Hans

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Toyota supposed to unveil a new Scion at the NY show next month -- its first sedan. I wonder if it'll possibly be RWD on the FR-S platform or maybe even the joint Toyota/BMW platform??
Doubt that Scion sedan will be the joint super platform. Would be weird to see it on a Scion but also that Toyota would let a Scion model be the first with it. This is supposed to be a cutting edge type of platform so it has to be reserved for the Supra. In all likelihood that Scion sedan probably won't even be a RWD model.
 

Supra93

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Toyota and BMW’s joint sports car project is set to spawn two different-sized four-wheel-drive hybrids that won’t be direct rivals for each other

toyota-supra-news2.jpg

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BMW and Toyota are planning to spin two different sizes of vehicle off their ongoing joint sports car project, allowing engineers from the two companies to deliver the next generation of Z4 and the return of the Supra name respectively.

The original deal to work together on a mid-size sports car was announced in 2012. Few details have been released since then, but BMW did confirm late last year that the project had entered the “concept phase” and that a technical feasibility study had been “successfully completed”.

Senior sources have now confirmed further details, including where the car Toyota produces will sit in the firm’s product line-up.

Speaking at the Geneva show, Toyota Europe vice-president and product planning chief Karl Schlicht said: “The intention with the new car is for it to sit above the GT86. It doesn’t replace that model; the GT86 goes on with its own mission.”

That positioning tallies with the return of one of Toyota’s classic sports car names. While the Celica badge has traditionally been used for models of the GT86’s size, the Supra name would give the firm a mainstream sports car flagship. It also allows the new car to be considerably more expensive than the GT86, reflecting what is likely to be a complex powertrain and high-tech construction.

As Autocar revealed last year, the two models are likely to feature a hybrid four-wheel drive set-up incorporating a BMW petrol engine and electric motors whose energy is stored in supercapacitors.

BMW is understood to be bringing its expertise in construction to the project, with the new sports car likely to follow the existing i3 and i8, and the forthcoming 7 Series, by making use of carbonfibre in its architecture.

Toyota’s most recent sports car concept, the FT-1, could be seen as a preview for the Japanese brand’s offering. Its 4.6m overall length is broadly the same as that of the last Supra, which was withdrawn from sale in 2002.

A model of this size would also be significantly larger than the existing Z4, but Ian Robertson, BMW’s board member with responsibility for sales and marketing, has stated that the two manufacturers have come up with a proposal that can satisfy different areas of the sports car market.

“The one thing we’re clear on now is that a platform for both companies can work,” he said. “The cars in themselves don’t actually need to be positioned the same. The platform can spawn two positionings."

“The concept works, the platform can deliver and now we have two proud sets of engineers - one group German, one group Japanese - who are each fighting and arguing for the car they want.”

When asked if the platform was scalable, to allow for the sort of difference in wheelbase that there could be between a Supra and a Z4, Robertson said: “Gone are the days when one platform was one platform. Most of our platforms are scalable these days.”

Robertson also said that no decision on production had been taken, but he suggested that a single factory would be used for both cars. “One part of the next phase will be deciding who builds the car - which company and in which country. We need to find out where the markets are and whether the biggest markets are the same for both companies.” It’s thought that a plant in the United States or Europe is more likely to be used than a facility in Japan.

Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, does not currently have access to the joint sports car program, but senior company officials have refused to rule out the idea in the longer term. “Toyota is next door,” said Lexus’s European boss, Alain Uyttenhoven. “We are one company and our head is Akio Toyoda, and we could do it. Right now, we are not going to have a common platform between BMW and Lexus. Purely speaking, though, we have access to everything which is Toyota.”
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/sports-car-partnership-spawn-new-toyota-supra
 
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black-supra

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Thanks for posting that, some interesting stuff! Most interesting stuff to me was:
  • The concept works, the platform can deliver and now we have two proud sets of engineers - one group German, one group Japanese - who are each fighting and arguing for the car they want.
  • A single factory would be used for both cars
  • Lexus, does not currently have access to the joint sports car program
 

<TC OFF>

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The "H" word rears its ugly head again. The leading sentence mentions "four-wheel-drive hybrids" but the article doesn't talk about that at all. Wish they would give more information on that if they're gonna claim that the car is going to be AWD and hybrid. :bonk:
 

Supra93

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No where was a BMW or Toyota official was quoted saying "hybrid" or "AWD". That part could just be AutoCar UK assuming, guessing, making crap up, or whatever you want to call it.

The only thing I take away from that article would be mostly what black-supra has already stated:

1. The two cars may not be the small size.
2. Most likely one factory will build both cars.
3. Currently there are no plans for a Lexus "Z4/Z5/FT-1" if you will.
 

black-supra

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No where was a BMW or Toyota official was quoted saying "hybrid" or "AWD". That part could just be AutoCar UK assuming, guessing, making crap up, or whatever you want to call it.

The only thing I take away from that article would be mostly what black-supra has already stated:

1. The two cars may not be the small size.
2. Most likely one factory will build both cars.
3. Currently there are no plans for a Lexus "Z4/Z5/FT-1" if you will.
Taking bets on what company and which factory will build the cars. Could this possibly be built in BMW's US plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina? It just got a $1 billion investment from BMW so its capacity is gonna be huge.

Any likely US Toyota plants that would make sense to build these cars?
 

323 Rider

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I can't wait until we find out the MKV Supra weight. Really hoping it's going to shock (in a good way).
 

detuning

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All supras were always built in Japan right? Is that going to change due to this jointly developed platform?
 

gymratter

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it says Lexus currently does not have access to the new platform, but it also says "we (Lexus) have access to everything which is Toyota". IMO it makes sense if Lexus gets one or two cars from this project. one larger to take on cars like the 6 series, SL/AMG GT, 911, and etc. and a smaller one to fight the Z4, SLK, Boxster/Cayman, 4C, and etc. if something like this were to happen, it would probably be few years later down the road.
 

AZ Wildcat

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Ok so it's not exactly a secret that the Toyota-BMW project will spawn the Supra, but the Toyota Europe vice-president and product planning chief Karl Schlicht doesnt actually call it the Supra. Just a car that will slot above the GT86. Some of the other new details are interesting if true. Really hate these hybrid AWD rumors that keep popping up tho. :rant:
 

S O B

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More info on BMW's CLAR platform http://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1101687

Definitely not the joint Toyota-BMW platform that the MKV will be built on, but interesting to see confirmation that it also uses carbon fiber construction, just not full CF. Sounds like the weight load bearing section only is in carbon fiber.
Man lots of cars already share the same engine now they're going to share the same platform. It's really just going to be the same car with a different shell eventually :( Or same sausage different lengths as the saying goes.
 

Supraman

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Ok so it's not exactly a secret that the Toyota-BMW project will spawn the Supra, but the Toyota Europe vice-president and product planning chief Karl Schlicht doesnt actually call it the Supra. Just a car that will slot above the GT86. Some of the other new details are interesting if true. Really hate these hybrid AWD rumors that keep popping up tho. :rant:
Well the People from Toyota that have mentioned Supra with this car to slot above the GT86 have only confirmed that Supra is one name being considered for this upcoming car among others that have not been mentioned. So most call it Supra already but there has been no official word yet from Toyota stating FT-1 will go into production let alone confirming it will be named Supra. So there is a chance it might not be called Supra though many of us are hoping it is.

Regarding the article, what I found interesting is: "One part of the next phase will be deciding who builds the car - which company and in which country. We need to find out where the markets are and whether the biggest markets are the same for both companies.”

I assume this will be done in the US that way BMW doesn't have a German car built in Japan and Toyota does not have their car built in Germany. US seems to be most common ground plus I'm sure it will be in top 3 countries where these cars will sell the most. BUT, if this is the case besides the car looking different and appearing to their brand I wonder if this means more than the shared platform will come out of this since they are building both cars in one facility, possibly shared engine and drive train?

And I still don't see this being a hybrid, not the Toyota version at least based on what has been said by Toyota officials in the past.
 
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dsubrosa

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Totally agree that being built in the same facility could mean more than just shared platform. It would make a lot of sense for both companies to build and assemble as much in common to save costs. Also wondering will moving production to the US (hypothetically speaking) mean a slightly lower price tag for us in the states?
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