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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
Ping!.................
But they turn into a brick at midnight…
Great for a quick beer run between commercials.
Just don’t drive it in the rain or more than 50 miles from a charging station (that’s not inoperative).
Put a twin turbo V6 in it and if I was 2 feet shorter I might consider it.
Looks “okay”.
That said, it’ll probably be close to 100k out the door, and that’s about the same money (incredibly) as the late-90s Supras these days, which are proper ICE, and a lot more hot-roddable than a fancy golf cart.
Also fully capable of sinking a cargo ship when its battery spontaneously ignites.
We rented a Toyota Sienna hybrid for our last vacation. It was quite nice, got 36MPG, and charged itself.
good looking lawn ornament
sharp, but not for the working class. For lib elites and paid to much black athletes who think they are slaves.
“The FT-Se concept also offers knee pads”
Only a matter of time before Toyota hires Monica Lewinsky as a corporate spokeswoman.
yes
hybrids make sense
battery only cars
do not
Sharp looking car
Now that’s and EV I would consider buying.....That’s a real babe magnet
Not much roof for solar collectors. No.
Just a fancy kitchen appliance with a puny electric motor.
That’s all well and good. My Tacoma will be the last man standing.
The problem is the cost.
When will they make an EV that people can actually afford and competes with an ICE vehicle?
I don’t think there is ever going to be such a thing.
Ohh, ohh, ohh, is there going to be an optional recording of a throaty exhaust note so it sounds like an ICE powered car? If so, where do I sign?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.