Rumor: the design of the Toyota FT-86 (Toyobaru) would have been rejected

And I had gotten my hopes up quite a bit with the Toyota FT-86… The small sports car was meant to be Toyota’s return to its roots, to the famous Kouki, the small 1980s coupé within everyone’s reach that became famous in the hands of tuners and performance specialists. It seems that Toyota’s management rejected the FT-86 design in favour of another design produced by a North American studio that belongs to Toyota.

To give you an idea of the expectation the FT-86 had generated, some renders of imaginary modifications were already circulating, and it even became one of the many cars you could drive in Gran Turismo. If the rumour is true, all of that will have been in vain.

As for the rumour itself, the Calty design institute in the USA, which answers to Toyota, also produced its own design of the FT-86, much more aggressive than the model we have seen in recent months. If the rumour is confirmed, the FT-86 was rejected last November.

The new candidate has lines that move a long way from that red FT-86 we saw online. Much bolder and a little more “Americanised”. Perhaps the secret of the FT-86 is that the USA will be its main market, although it’s almost incomprehensible why a concept that paid homage to a model that sold very well for Toyota in the past would be rejected. Will this be another misstep by the brand?

Via | Piston Heads