FT-86 Concept Debut At Toyota Metapolis
October 7, 2009 by Adam Zillin
Filed under Japanese News, Latest Articles
7Tune reader Ken (aka K) was kind enough to drop us a line about the new Toyota FT-86 Concept and some high resolution photos currently flying around the internet and to be honest, we were caught sleeping! Usually the rumors slow down towards the Tokyo Motor Show which will be held later this month so it’s great to see Toyota jumping the gun and providing official images of the long awaited concept. For those who can read Japanese, Toyota Metapolis also has a debut event for the FT-86 on October 23rd.
What’s Toyota Metapolis? It’s a virtual city created for visitors to experience Toyota’s products, concepts, philosophy and events all in cartoon-like 3 dimensional graphics not unlike Sony’s “Playstation Home” virtual world. On October 23rd, visitors to Metapolis will be treated to an unveiling of the FT-86 Concept where they will be able to exchange opinions on the car which will be logged by Toyota and may affect certain aspects of the final production model. There will also be a quiz and other games and after the event a questionnaire will be provided for visitors to fill out and in turn will be given a present. What this present is exactly we don’t know, we’ll have to wait for the next news release. Fingers crossed it’s a 1/12th scale plastic model kit of the FT-86! Maybe not…
As for the FT-86 concept itself, the team here at 7Tune gives it a big thumbs up. While the FT-86 borrows a lot of styling cues from the FT-HS hybrid sports car, which isn’t a bad thing at all, it also has a style of its own which surely will become a legendary car in the future in its own right. Links to the original “Hachiroku” aside, the FT-86 concept should translate into a very desirable road car despite it’s lower power rating which current rumors suggest will be around 160HP – 200HP. Some have already mentioned that the Subaru sourced 2.0L flat-four engine severs any links with the original AE86, but Toyota has done a lot to keep the essence of the original in a truely modern lightweight RWD concept and for that we think it’ll be a winner. 7Tune will be at the Tokyo Motor Show press days so stay tuned for more photos and information later this month.
Words: Justin Karow
Images: Toyota Motor Co.
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