The big surprise, or maybe really the only surprise, at Detroit this year was the unveiling of the Toyota FT-1 concept this morning at Cobo Center
The big surprise, or maybe really the only surprise, at Detroit this year was the unveiling of the Toyota FT-1 concept this morning at Cobo Center. A compact sports car with evocative – but not retro – detailing, the FT-1 is quite simply fresher and better executed than anything we’ve seen from Toyota in a long time.
With clear Supra references in the DRG and the giant rear wing, the FT-1 is a statement by the Japanese firm that its beige days are numbered, and it immediately puts its sportier Japanese competitors such as Mazda and Nissan on notice. The proportions are classically cab-rearward, and the front-mid mounted engine is on prominent show through a clear glass window in the hood. Designed at Toyota’s Calty studio in California, the fluid and muscular design language is a clear step forward from the FT-86, and a purposeful “statement of intent” by the company. Although the design has traces of Viper, LFA, and the classic 2000GT in it, it doesn’t fall into the retro-pastiche trap that has plagued so many other brands recently.
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