Posted on 10/19/2023 8:27:42 AM PDT by Red Badger
The FT-Se concept’s interior shows a "steering apparatus" that may play into the same steer-by-wire EV system as the Lexus RZ.
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Toyota has been slow in adopting EVs; the bZ4X is the only current model. But the Japanese brand has big plans for EV battery tech, and Toyota may be poised to become a dominant player in the EV space.
What will that future look like? Toyota is previewing it with two new concepts at the Japan Mobility Show. There's no electric pickup yet. But one of the two concepts definitely looks like an electric Supra.
Meet the Toyota FT-Se Concept
Toyota calls the FT-Se its "high-performance sports BEV." It looks like a concept version of an electric Supra and carries GR branding like the GR Supra and GR86 sports cars. It shares a platform with Toyota's other EV concept being revealed, the FT-3e crossover.
Toyota described the concept as having "wide and low proportions" to reduce drag. One of the significant innovations with Toyota's next-gen battery pack will be reducing the height of battery packs for better aerodynamic efficiency.
The Toyota FT-Se has a yoke
The FT-Se concept uses a yoke-like steering apparatus. Toyota has been a proponent of this design with EVs. The Lexus RZ offers one with its steer-by-wire technology. And the related Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra have cockpits that look like they were designed for one.
The FT-Se features a driver-centric layout with the instrument display low and recessed and two screens flanking the steering apparatus to the right and left.
The FT-Se concept also offers knee pads
Toyota says the FT-Se Concept has "newly designed knee pads" that "protect the driver from G-forces during driving."
Will Toyota's electric sports car get a manual?
Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda confirmed in June 2023 that he had driven a prototype for a GR electric sports car and that it had featured a manual transmission with a clutch. Lexus's electric LFA successor has also been linked with having a manual transmission.
When will Toyota's electric sports car arrive?
Toyota has not announced when it will produce an electric sports car. The FT-Se concept looks a ways off being a production car. And we expect Toyota will prioritize more mass-market projects like the three-row SUV and electric pickup. Toyota is supposed to roll out its next-gen EV battery and platform technology in 2026, which could be when we see the sports car.
The elites want ‘15 minute’ cities.....................
You probably already know this, but Toyota pick up trucks in good condition lose value at just about the slowest rate of any vehicle I have ever seen. My brother traded a 2008 Taco for a 2021 Taco,
and the dealer gave him an outrageous trade in. Very close to what he paid for it. And they are pretty OK to drive. No, they’re not a Lexus.
The point being, if you still derive utility from your truck, there should be no hurry to get rid of it, IMO.
“Sportscars in general, regardless of engines, are not useful.”
Here in NW Tucson, there are quite a few exotics, new mid engine Corvettes, etc.
All being driven no faster that a Priaps, and most all by older men.
Comments to my wife what a waste, nowhere to really open it up or take on a twisty road. Not that the drivers look to be up for that sort of stuff.
That is exactly my point. I am thinking about keeping this one instead of buying a new one for $45K ish. Only to get basically the same thing.
So, what I am looking for is a sporty car that is not going to be in the shop every other month. At $1-2,000 per crack.
Just don’t drive it in the rain or more than 50 miles from a charging station (that’s not inoperative).“
Or in the cold or in heavy traffic or if it’s hot or try to park it in city parking garages or….
“most all by older men”
Yep, you get to that age where you can’t take it with you and you say I want to buy something for ME. I paid the mortgage off. I paid for the kids education. The wife’s face lift and boob job. I am sick of driving a Camry or a F150.
I am kinda at that point(minus the boob job and face lift).
Some men even dump their wife and get a bimbo with a prenup.
I’m more of a minivan kind of person.
We could tell…….(Sarcasm, couldn’t resist such a setup line🤭)
It’ll be exciting for the hundred or so mikes between 10-hour recharges.
In my older age, I’ve come to the conclusion that when it comes to cars, that the best approach is to not overthink it and just go buy a Toyota.
My brother and his son have both gotten really great deals shopping for 2-3 year old lease turn-ins on Mercedes, their preferred fetish. Bro has bought his last 3 Mercedes this way and I’ve been impressed by the landed cost he got each time. I have zero idea if that notion has any applicability to Toyota trucks, people seem to keep them longer and if they are work or semi-work trucks, people do not want to get dinged for scratches, etc; on turn-in with a lease. Ergo, they mostly do not lease them, they buy or finance them cash. That’s just my impression, I have no empirical data.
But if you are looking for a sedan, I’d bet you’ll find some cars. You probably know that Lexus costs a fair amount more to repair than Toyota. They see you coming.
Au contraire. A Miata on an empty mountain road is very useful for your mental health.
Three deer strikes on our suv in almost 6 years, and numerous close calls (2 would have been strikes, but for me breaking the rule about not swerving).
Therefore we have no desire to have anything that would easily allow the deer to smash the windshield.
Stored my son’s 2017 Cayman S for a week while he worked on his garage. I drove here, and back to his place a week later. Kinda frustrating to drive it like an old grandma for a combined 90 miles.
With looks like that I expect it will be priced close to $100k to start. It has the “looks-like-it-is-going-fast-when-it-is-parked” stance.
Infiniti is Nissan. That is a deal-killer in my book.
I hit a deer on I-70 in Kansas in my PINTO in 1974 doing about 70 mph.....................
This is the kind of car you get ticketed in for driving the speed limit...................
The combined fuel mileage for the hybrid is 36MPG. Normal combined mileage for a similar ICE vehicle is 22MPG.
The regenerative braking system seem to help, also.
They must have vast fields of ammonia wells.
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