Toyota could have a smaller sports car in the works

In a recently concluded interview with Tetsuya Tada, Chief Engineer of Toyota, the Japanese company may have dropped a hint at a third sports car to join the Toyota 86 and the upcoming Toyota Supra. Tetsuya Tada had been working on the Supra project since 2012, and was extremely excited when the new Supra made its appearance and hill climb at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.

While he did state that the Toyota 86 was his passion project - an actual sports car in the lineup of Toyota in quite a long time, the Toyota Supra project benefited from the experience and ideas learned throughout the 86’s development cycle. Of course, the Toyota Supra would be a much more powerful car, so the level of work had to be raised significantly. When asked if the Supra was the bigger brother to the 86, he stated that Akio Toyoda, current president of Toyota Motor Corporation, always wanted to have “three brothers”, with the 86 in the middle and the Supra as the biggest brother. Could the little brother be another two-seater coupe that Toyota hinted at three years ago?

In 2015, Toyota teased the idea of an MX-5 competitor in the form of the Toyota S-FR concept. Originally slated for release by 2020, following the Toyota Supra, it would be an affordable roadster for those wanting a rear-wheel drive, short wheelbase coupe. No engine specs or performance numbers have been hinted or released at this time, but rumors say it would be powered by a 1.5-liter engine with around 130 hp and be only limited to a six-speed manual transmission. Weight was estimated at 980 kg, creating an agile car to zip around in. Since the release of the concept in 2015, things have been awfully quiet. But if the indication of three sports cars in the lineup is anything to go by, we’re pretty sure Toyota’s just keeping the project under wraps for now. Our fingers are crossed for a sub 1.5-million-peso price tag. Track days, anyone?