For almost two years, Toyota went quiet about their FT-HS Concept car which was first presented at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. All actions were stopped until now, when the need of a new car on the market has increased. FT-HS has a 3.5 litre V6 hybrid engine, and is an environmentally-friendlier sports car.
Toyota wants to turn the FT-HS Concept car into a series production car with the help of a Prius powertrain. The questions is: can they gather everything that’s know up to now in the automotive industry about sports cars and use into this Toyota MR2?
MR2 was the name of a two-seated rear wheel drive sports car produced by Toyota between 1984 and 2007, so this will mean a comeback on the market in force and style. Toyota promises to put all kinds of gadgets and technological innovations in the MR2 and as well reduce the fuel consumption.
The price is speculated to be about $24,400(20,000£), just about the cost of a normal Prius.
The car will go from 0 to 60 mph in about 7 seconds and have a fuel consumption of 60mpg. Emissions will be lower than 100g/km of Co2.
Toyota officials have declared that the company is concentrated at this moment on delivering hybrid cars to the market , probably as they feel this is the near future of automotive industry.
I trust that Toyota will continue to release vehicles that appeal to the many supporters across t he globe. Their reputation is sound and shareholders will continue to trust their decisions in respect of what cars to produce.
Not to sound negative but everytime I hear about this car it’s always a concept. I work at a Toyota dealership and until I see it on a presentation show I will hold my breath.
Sure I would love to see this car, and I would probably get the first one to hit the showroom, but to be honest, I am sure we won’t get what we see now.
I have followed the developpement of this car for a couple of years now, I don’t even bother anymore. It is only a fantasy.
For one, the battery is too heavy, making this car behave like a sedan more than a sports car. When I asked Toyota if they planned a sports car (in the 2008 Toyota convention in Florida) they told me they had no plan to bring the FT-HS to market.
So unless Toyota show it to us, I doubt it will be produced.