How the Supra Chief Designer Shaped Toyota’s New Sports Car

[A70TTR]

im sure there will be aftermarket wings and tail lights almost immediately and will likely be throwback designs to the A80.

on that same line, I think there will be FT1 inspired stuff as well.

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[Turbro]

See this is all I want, with a manual and Im sold...

 

[Jeff Lange]

The one thing I really wanted but didn't get was a proper Toyota-style cruise control stalk.

The rest is pretty okay.

Jeff

 

[twntrbo03']

"AM: How much were you able to influence the interior design? Because there’s obviously some joint-venture stuff with BMW in there—how hard was that to put your stamp on it?

NN: Actually, we share only the small switches. So the layout or finished shapes, I didn’t get any limitation from the BMW side, so we were very free to make our style."


... but I thought that interior is 100% BMW?

It might as well be! If that is in fact true, they failed horribly! Besides little things here and there, it LOOKS EXACTLY ALIKE

 

[bogglo]

 

[Supra93]

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2020-toyota-supra-design-ft-1-concept-to-production/

2020 TOYOTA SUPRA DESIGN: FROM FT-1 CONCEPT TO PRODUCTION
Gestation of the A90 Supra

Before the 2020 Toyota Supra arrived, the FT-1 concept excited enthusiasts everywhere. Transitioning a concept design to production isn't always easy, but in the case of a flagship sports car—absolutely crucial. Keep reading to learn about how the FT-1 became the 2020 Supra, assuring that this new Toyota had styling that matched its performance.

In March 2012, at about the same time Toyota and BMW headed down the Silk Road together, the gesture of what would become the Supra was also hatching in Southern California. Kevin Hunter, president of Calty Design Research in Newport Beach, took the casual initiative of proposing some rough sketches of a sports coupe to his boss in Japan, Tokuo Fukuichi (now a Toyota managing officer). Fukuichi gave the green light to propose the idea to the big boss, Akio Toyoda, who gave Calty the go-ahead to create a concept car for the 2014 Detroit auto show. Things move fast when you have the big boss' attention.

"We're really proud of it, from the point of view that we initiated the first concept of FT-1, it was used as inspiration for the sports car, and [it has] now translated into production," Hunter said.

This all makes MotorTrend wonder how often (or more likely, how infrequently) a design house's original idea makes it all the way to production—especially for a low-volume sports car. When you consider it, this is a pretty remarkable vote of confidence, a case of enthusiastic designers planting a seed and the company ensuring there's fertile ground and plenty of sunlight for it to grow into a full-fledged company icon. Of course, pretty much everyone naming the FT-1 concept Best of Show helped push forward its production status quite smartly as well.

But before Calty even created the FT-1 for the 2014 stage, there had already been high-level meetings with BMW regarding the cars' fundamental engineering and packaging. Concept cars are usually built larger than life for the show stage, to impress showgoers, Hunter said, but then they have to shrink down for the realities of the world.

"If you look at the FT-1 concept car, [pictured above] it's a pretty big car, actually, and we purposely blew it up to be a true exotic," he said. "The reality of the [Supra's] packaging is, it's actually a very good, nice, proper package for a sports car, for a high-performance sports car. So we had to figure out how to capture all the essence of FT-1 but get it down into the compact packaging of the actual engineering condition."

At the center of the transition from FT-1 concept to the production car code-named A90, Calty senior lead designer Tom Matsumoto was embedded for six months with the Munich-based BMW/Toyota team under project chief designer Nobuo Nakamura.

Matsumoto explained the most difficult parts of translating the FT-1 to Supra: "Making a concept is coming from nothing to something in life, from zero to one. Then the production phase is taking that all the way to a condition that people could drive. There's a lot of safety requirements in every country and everything that you have to go through to get that right."

With regard to manufacturing constraints, like producing the Supra's curvaceous body panels, Matsumoto added, "Our rear flares were really deepened, and the Magna production capability was able to make that possible. So it's a little bit of pushing here and pushing there, and how it's stampable, how it's not." (Since ending production of the Mini Paceman and Countryman at its facility in Graz, Austria, low-volume production specialist Magna Steyr will endeavor to build 60,000 combined units of Z4 and Supra annually for worldwide consumption.)'

Real-world realities often mute the styling excesses of a concept by the time it reaches production. But Hunter believes the soul of the FT-1 survives in the Supra. "Everything is there if you really look at all the fundamental elements of FT-1," he said. "Starting at the nose—the kind of F1-style nose—that goes to a cool-looking intake on the front, all the way back to the strong rocker leading into the muscular rear flares. Also, the Toyota DNA, the [1967-1970] 2000 GT cabin architecture is all there, with that reverse wedge cabin, the tight rear spoiler, the big, aggressive rear flares. Everything just had to be reconsidered and redimensioned and repackaged for detailing to capture the spirit of FT-1." What's Hunter's favorite view of the car? "The rear three-quarter. It really, truly exhibits that broad, wide, muscular stance."

 

[SupraFiend]

im sure there will be aftermarket wings and tail lights almost immediately and will likely be throwback designs to the A80.

Exactly. The wing has always been polarizing, even on the mk4. Many people custom ordered their mk4 Turbos without, even more took them off down the road. If the stock mk5 has great cd and downforce the way it is, don't force a wing on everyone. Its easier to add it then to delete it, plus it would add cost.

 

[Guff]

It might as well be! If that is in fact true, they failed horribly! Besides little things here and there, it LOOKS EXACTLY ALIKE

Now, I'm not really a fan of the MKV interior, but they definitely don't look the same. The only things I can really see that's exactly the same are the headlight control panel, and the door handles/switches. Other than that, it's pretty different. Not good IMO, but certainly different.

 

[Bryster]

It's a shame that they had all the freedom to do the interior and they didn't make it resemble the A80 at all. I feel like the interior is quite boring.

Same could be said for the A80 interior not resembling the A70 interior

 

[twntrbo03']

Now, I'm not really a fan of the MKV interior, but they definitely don't look the same. The only things I can really see that's exactly the same are the headlight control panel, and the door handles/switches. Other than that, it's pretty different. Not good IMO, but certainly different.

OK, they aren't exactly the same. Whats sad is it looks like the Z4 is more driver focused with the instruments faced towards the driver. Maybe it's just the way it looks in the pic

 

[Bryster]

I wish we had a modern version of this But, I'm sure they thought about this and it wouldn't have made costs as low...c'est la vie.

Ummm...LC?

 

[Novice_Mentality]

Ummm...LC?

I think I was looking for more of a cockpit, selfish style interior. Something driver focused, basically a refreshed mk4 interior. I think my favorite part of the mk4 interior is the angled interior piece that clearly divided that interior. I was in a Supra (I've never owned one just to be clear lol) and it made me feel special sitting in the drivers seat. Like I was in control of something significant. Something along the lines of the new c8 interior that leaked a while ago. I know it wouldn't really happen, it's just wishful thinking on my part.

Also, when I said I wish we had a modern version of this, I meant inside the mk5, not in general lol.

 

[Chikane]

I dunno why but I'm been feeling that the selfish cockpit style interiors are counter intiutive when the climate control is dual zone and needs to be accessible by the passenger. But that's just my thoughts lol I think they executed the LC cockpit just fine, I have to save my judgement for when I spend sometime in the new Supra to pass judgement on the interior.

 

[bpeterson20_89]

I dunno why but I'm been feeling that the selfish cockpit style interiors are counter intiutive when the climate control is dual zone and needs to be accessible by the passenger. But that's just my thoughts lol I think they executed the LC cockpit just fine, I have to save my judgement for when I spend sometime in the new Supra to pass judgement on the interior.

On the C7 there are climate control buttons integrated into the passenger side air vent.

 

[MA617M]

I've always thought thr A80 had a bmw style dash. They've had driver-angled dashes in a lot of their vehicles since the E21 (E21, E24, E30 and E34 pictured)

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