Interviews with Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada

[Supraman]

Digging through youtube I found this video from August 2013 with Tetsuya Tada San Cheif Engineer of the Toyota GT86 / FRS / BRZ. He answered several questions asked by GT86 owners many which included questions about Supra. In Tetsuya Tada words 'Please be patient'. Enjoy!



Update:
Came across another video posted November 2014. Tada San confirms Toyota is working on a higher performance vehicle to sit above the GT86 and also an entry level car

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[NeroZ]

Good video posted by Supraman

 

[NeroZ]

Seems to be some of the stuff that was posted in the quotes thread too. It's been a while since we've heard Tada San talk about the FT-1 / Supra project. Wish they'd drop some more hints for us to chew over...

 

[daboss]

Seems to be some of the stuff that was posted in the quotes thread too. It's been a while since we've heard Tada San talk about the FT-1 / Supra project. Wish they'd drop some more hints for us to chew over...

Seems Tada had a lot to say in 2012-2013 before the concept was even shown in early 2014, but gone pretty quiet since then. I keep reminding myself that he said that the 86 needed 5 years to develop and the Supra will also need 5 years so we're gonna need some patience

"The 86 needed five years to develop, so at least five years is required for the others. A normal passenger car about two to three years. But sports cars need special parts, so it's five years." - quote from http://www.supramkv.com/threads/quotes-from-tetsuya-tada-on-the-ft1-supra.40/#post-291

 

[Supraman]

I wonder if those 5 years include the 2 years Calty took in working on the design of the car and showing it in January this year. If so, that means there are 2 years left if we take away this year.

 

[Mr. M]

I wonder if those 5 years include the 2 years Calty took in working on the design of the car and showing it in January this year. If so, that means there are 2 years left if we take away this year.

Hope so! If not we're in for a LONG wait if we're counting from the concept's debut in Jan 2014. Five years would put us at 2019!

 

[Supra93]

So five years from Calty's start time (2012) would put a production version around 2017.

 

[Mr. M]

So five years from Calty's start time (2012) would put a production version around 2017.

Makes sense but still 2 years away. Hope they keep us intrested and teased with updated concepts and 'leaks'.

 

[Supraman]

Came across another video posted November 2014. Tada San confirms Toyota is working on a higher performance vehicle to sit above the GT86 and also an entry level car

 

[Scino]

I hope we're getting the next teaser/concept soon. Fingers crossed.

 

[EMTer]

Came across another video posted November 2014. Tada San confirms Toyota is working on a higher performance vehicle to sit above the GT86 and also an entry level car

Good find. This is the latest statement I've seen from Tada San. 3 sports car lineup is exciting but I hope there's enough demand out there to keep the 3 models going for multiple generations.

I'm almost as excited about the sub-86 sports car as the new Supra! If it can be a MR2 reboot, that would be amazing! Anytime I see a 2nd gen MR2 I still can't help but stare. Something that small and mid-engined could steal the Miata's thunder once and for all.

 

[EMTer]

Also interesting that he calls the Supra a "higher class of 86" ?

 

[Hank Lee]

Also interesting that he calls the Supra a "higher class of 86" ?

Maybe he didn't want to specifically mention it by the "Supra" name?

A higher class of 86 sounds good to me though. That's a driver's car so if they keep all the fundamental philosophies (lightweight, low CoG, fun even at low speeds) but bump up each of its performance aspects while keeping the FT-1 looks, it will be pretty amazing.

 

[fox body]

My bet is the sub 86 and Supra is all we see after 2017. I just don't think there is enough market to chop it up between those 3. The entry level sports car market is a risky proposition IMO.

 

[Craigy]

My bet is the sub 86 and Supra is all we see after 2017. I just don't think there is enough market to chop it up between those 3. The entry level sports car market is a risky proposition IMO.

Yeah I don't really understand how far sub a sub-86 could go. Perhaps something like what the Celica used to be, for ~$17-19k instead of the 86's $26k.

I think at that point it's more of an inexpensive sporty car, and less of an entry level sportscar per se. Lots of people buy cheap cars, and many of them want it to look exciting.

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