Photo: Best Car
According to a report by the Associated Press, Akio Toyoda, the newly installed CEO of Toyota, confirmed that the company will go ahead with plans to build a sportscar in collaboration with Subaru.
"I am very excited about it and I plan to fast-track it," Toyoda said.
Toyoda also told an audience at a management seminar in Traverse City, MI that he feels as though the company is at a new beginning that requires a new way of thinking.
"I want to see Toyota build cars that are fun and exciting to drive," he said.
Seems like we've heard that one before.
AP: Toyota president says new sports car planned
compliance says:
03:26 PM, 08/ 5/09
Lets hope they follow through. It will certainly mix things up and maybe it will get Honda off their asses as well.
alman08 says:
04:13 PM, 08/ 5/09
yeah... we need a celica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ktinsd says:
05:06 PM, 08/ 5/09
Sportscoupe. Its not a sportscar.
redliner says:
05:10 PM, 08/ 5/09
Hurry up and build it already.
texastorque says:
07:54 PM, 08/ 5/09
any chance subaru will get a hold of the model? it would be nice to see a turbo edition.
texastorque says:
07:55 PM, 08/ 5/09
any chance subaru will get a hold of the moddel? it would be nice to see a turbo edition.
zc1 says:
07:59 PM, 08/ 5/09
It's about time.
inlinesix says:
08:01 PM, 08/ 5/09
Looks promising
stovt001 says:
08:49 PM, 08/ 5/09
"Sportscoupe. Its not a sportscar."
My first thought reading this article was "define sports car". I had been under the impression all along that this would be a sporty coupe, which is just fine. I just expect this to be a Genesis coupe fighter, rather than a Miata fighter.
charlesb says:
09:31 PM, 08/ 5/09
Sure, I'll believe it when I see it.
joeo26 says:
09:36 PM, 08/ 5/09
Cool, not to sound like a fan boy but I hope this sparks Honda into coming back with a new prelude or something.. I wonder if it will be around the level of a Z or more like a Civic SI?
zoos says:
11:40 PM, 08/ 5/09
lets all not forget a car that went by the name of supra if toyota ever maid a car that deserved to be included in the sports car world this was the one not no stinking celica dont get me wrong the celica was a great run but no supra would it not be a call to all jap sports car manaf to comeback on scene if toyota brought back the king of the imports!!
isaacl says:
06:38 AM, 08/ 6/09
lol @ Honda people loving this Toyota news to stir some emotion in thier own beloved manufacturers design ranks
kingisback350 says:
07:00 AM, 08/ 6/09
When GM had an alliance with Subaru they built the Saab 9-2x which is the same thing as the impreza wagon. Now since Toyota has a stake in Subaru I can garuntee its gonna be the same as a Subaru but with different sheetmetal... Just by a WRX it's better.
fuhteng says:
07:08 AM, 08/ 6/09
Good for Hyundai. Toyota is running scared of the Koreans (with good reason), so here goes the Genesis coupe fighter.
But come on guys, make it look DIFFERENT from the Genesis coupe! That thing looks just like the Genesis coupe with the Toyota badge on the front.
Thinking wider, with Toyota making this, the IS-F and the LF-A, I think Toyota might finally be trying to shed their 'appliance' image.
iskch says:
08:03 AM, 08/ 6/09
Toyota can spice up their cars pretty quick if they have the desire. Just imagine a Scion XD with a 170 HP version of the old 05 - 06 Corolla XRS.
Is a matter of time to see if they are planning to revive the Supra. The new Lexus LA-F can be a starting block for the Supra with a Turbo Charge V-6.
Will see.
slhtonz says:
09:07 AM, 08/ 6/09
I don't know what it is, but under all that styling I still see a solara... I understand toyota knows how to make a sports car (see: supra) but god forbid it comes out looking like a dressed-up camry. One thing's for sure, it will be great to see competition in this area... and hopefully, some sporty bits filter back to the sedan segment.
felonious says:
09:13 AM, 08/ 6/09
Don't be so negative! I believe him. He's well-known to be a true enthusiast. I think great things lie ahead for Toyota (and Toyoda).
estreka says:
10:14 AM, 08/ 6/09
Toyoda is a very different man than Watanabe. If Toyoda says jump, his underlings don't even ask "how high?" because they should already know.
I do hope it's a Toyota and not a Lexus. A return of the MR2 (not the MR-S) would be fantastic.
A new Supra would be fantastic too, as long as it's competitive with the GT-R, just like the old days.
flwind says:
10:17 AM, 08/ 6/09
That looks promising, which is about time being that Toyota hasn't had a decent affordable sporty non lexus ride if quite some time...Now lets just hope they put in a nice turbo engine like they used to know how to do..
kingkhalas says:
11:42 AM, 08/ 6/09
maybe it'll push honda to do this too.
stovt001 says:
01:26 PM, 08/ 6/09
I'm not a fan of Toyota, but I'm certainly happy to see growing competition in the affordable, compact, sporty RWD market. Time for the Detroit manufacturers to offer something here. My guess is the next generation pony cars will be designed for this segment.
inlinesix says:
02:15 PM, 08/ 6/09
I'm waiting for Detroit to offer a compact or midsize RWD sporty sedan or coupe...something that can handle corners, gets decent gas mileage...
cz75 says:
03:13 PM, 08/ 6/09
The douchenozzles at Honda were moving to emulate Toyota re: making boring, practical cars. Hopefully they'll be carried along on the bandwagon with Toyota's change in direction, otherwise they won't get another dime from me.
atenza94546 says:
03:04 PM, 08/ 7/09
Yeah !! we could have a new car my Tufo shop.
atenza94546 says:
03:07 PM, 08/ 7/09
When will Honda start bringing in the S2000 and the Prelude ???
NSX is bit out of my range !!
fuhteng says:
10:02 PM, 08/ 7/09
GM and Ford are fine for their version of the cheap fun cars. Chrysler has bigger fish to fry, but they could use one too. The Challenger doesn't count.
Not everyone has to have turbo-fours and fart-can exhausts. I'm glad GM and Ford don't. Making the Camaro lighter and the Mustang more powerful would be a great next step.