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.
Post 79 I mean.
I like minivans because I can use them to camp. I don’t have to bring a tent. I just have to lay out a foam mattress and a sleeping bag in the back.
I don’t like turbo 4’s. V6 Tacoma’s and Frontier’s are the only 2 midsized trucks I like. I just got a Taco last month and it was really tough to find and had to order it.
They just have loaded them them up with options and it’s almost impossible to stay under $40K but you can.
V6 Tacoma’s and Frontier’s are the only 2 midsized trucks I like.
I got the new, updated Frontier last year. First Nissan I’ve owned. Love it. Very powerful and quick.
How fast was the deer going?
And what is your opinion of the Frontiers?
I've never driven in one, or even ridden in one.
man, you aint kidding, women loved that car. Mine was white and Toyota put like 8 coates of clear laquer when they painted it and the car constantly look like it was “wet”, it shined so much. I actually worked on it for no reason...it was so easy to work on and EVERYTHING always went right back into place! I got lucky, i bought mine from a girl who was having a baby and needed a mini-van, and her husband was NOT happy she was selling it..lol, and it only had like 70,000 miles on it, very RARE for those cars. The first month i had it, i kept “grinding” the starter because i couldnt tell if the motor was running or not, thats how quiet that thing hummed....just an amazing, well built car!!...i loved mine.
I had a 2012 Frontier, the current ones look different but have the same motor and an 8 speed. Toyota sells tons of Taco’s and I like mine. Some people say the seats are not very adjustable but it has plenty of power, and plenty of headroom for 5’11. I’ll just say, it’s tight as a drum, not a single rattle or squeak. Chalk one up for Mexico.
I have an SR V6 4x4 base of the base model. It has a lot of little touches I like, including my favorites the handbrake and Android / Carplay.
oh...one more brag about my Supra, lol...i had the A/C recharged when the good Freon was still legal, and, im not kidding, when i would first turn it on, a little puff of “frost” actually came out of the vents!!... i kid you not. Car was simply bad ass...
I'll take a Tacoma for a test drive and then do some more cogitating....
I can’t count how many times I tried to start it while the engine was still running it was that smooth.
Was quite the car for it’s time.
Made camaro’s and mustangs look like a pos in comparison.
I bought mine off a indian guy when it was 2 years old.
Totally mint condition.
You are right that it was a very rare car and hard to find.
Way before the internet.
My only complaint was that I couldn’t find a targa top...
funny you mention “camaro’s...a few years before i bought that Supra, i bought a 1986 Z-28 brand new, and was absolutely the worst car i ever bought...just a pile of cheap, plastic junk. From day 1, every time i turned the A/C on, it would over heat. I took it to so many places and they all said the same thing...that it was a design flaw and the radiator was too small for that car. After 2 years, it literally rusted right underneath me. I remember for years i said id never buy a Japanese car...well, that Z-28 and then that Supra changed my mind forever.
Sane, actually.
About 70mph after I hit it.......
Well it actually turns into one at the stroke of midnight
Body bags are less expensive than air bags, so correct.
200 kilometers an hour. No way a stock 87 Supra even hit over 140
200 M.P.H.....NOT KILOMETERS. Trust me, that car made it easy....
Agree
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