Toyota: FT-86 Will Be ‘Best in the World’ for Drifting

[West]

Amid repeated promises from new president Akio Toyoda that it will start making exciting cars to pull itself out of its slump, Toyota officially unveiled the FT-86 concept edition of its 2012 “affordable” compact rear-drive sport coupe at the 2009 Tokyo show.

As we've previously reported, the FT-86 is a joint effort with Subaru, which engineered the car to Toyota’s performance targets, and will be building both the Toyota and its own version. Subaru didn’t unveil its version at the Tokyo show, instead leaving all the glory to the Toyota. Subaru’s version is expected to debut sometime next year.

It’s a proper sports-car platform, though the suspension fundamentals are familiar from the Legacy. The engine is a Subaru boxer 2.0-liter four with a Toyota head unit, normally aspirated to keep the price low but with direct gas injection. Expect 160-180 horsepower, which should be able to provide decent performance because the car is light thanks to its compactness -- just 164 inches long, which is sub-Audi TT, but with a comparatively stretchy 101-inch wheelbase. It’s also possible it will use aluminum in its construction.

A six-speed manual transmission is mounted directly behind the engine, but the motor itself is low and well aft -- further back than in existing Subarus -- so weight distribution will be helpful to the dynamics. When asked about the actual balance, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada replied: “Many people think it should be 50:50, but we did lots of tests and that isn’t the best for drifting. That’s why the gearbox is at the front not the rear. Drifting and sliding the tail is the most important thing, and this car will be the best in the world for that.”

He added, “We have built lots of prototypes and taken them to the Nurburgring, but this isn’t just a car for the track. The steering will react instantly, and you’ll feel it not just on the track but on every junction on the way to the supermarket.”

http://www.motortrend.com/auto_news/...ame/index.html

[Exitspeed]

I'm not anti-drifting (although I don't do it), but I'm not crazy about them tailoring the car to be such a drift machine.

I prefer grip which I'm sure the car will still be plenty good at.

[Cone]

I'm really big into drifting, (the reason why I'm excited about this car) I wonder if they will tailor the car to people like me. That would be amazing, but somehow I'm not going to expect it.

[Cal]

Drifiting is cool n all, but I agree with West. Not to sure about catoring to it for building the car. This is just pushing me towards the suby version.

[Exitspeed]

Drifiting is cool n all, but I agree with West. Not to sure about catoring to it for building the car. This is just pushing me towards the suby version.

I feel the same way, but pushing towards the Toyota version.

[Cone]

Tailoring the car for drifting doesn't mean that it will handle poorly. When you set up a drift car, it's actually very similar to a car set up for grip driving. It seems they're trying to set up the car for more control.

[6 SPEED DEMON]

As long as its badged a celica then I care less how they market it.

[mRodiek]

It seems like they just want to produce a drift car, they should be marketing to a wider audience if they want to make more money. Drifting is big yes, but even if every drifter in the world bought one Toyota wouldnt make enough money to keep it going for too long