By Matt Bird \/ Wednesday, 25 October 2023 \/ Loading comments<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t just Mazda demonstrating that the future sports car really is something to look forward to at Tokyo. This is the Toyota FT-Se, a car previewed last week and now revealed in full, and it shows what a GR-branded, battery-powered sports car could look like. As predicted, it turns out the future could look absolutely brilliant. <\/p>\n
Key to such a sleek sports car, says Toyota, is new battery technology. With the reveal of the FT-Se and FT-3e SUV, President and CEO Koji Sato spoke of making the fundamentals of EVs much smaller and lighter, with the promise of a driving feel that \u2018can be transformed\u2019. More compact hardware reaps benefits for every bit of the car; Sato added that the next generation of Toyotas can be a \u2018diverse lineup with outstanding qualities\u2019. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s likely going to come from Toyota\u2019s new Performance lithium-ion batteries, the pack of which could be as little as 100mm tall. Having the heaviest bit of an EV less than four inches tall and buried right in the bottom of the architecture would work wonders for handling, surely. The Performance upgrade is said to deliver up to 500 miles of range while also being significantly cheaper than existing battery packs, which feels like quite a big step forward. It\u2019s expected in Toyotas from 2026, which would tie in very nicely with a rumoured 2027 debut for something based on the FT-Se. <\/p>\n
The hardware is going to be supported with a new software platform called Arene; the teaser last week suggested that the FT-Se would \u2018continue to grow with the driver through software updates\u2019. Now we have a better idea of exactly what that means, including the use of vehicle data to speed up development \u2018that meets customer needs\u2019. Toyota also says cars underpinned by Arene will have apps that will do your shopping from the car, share electricity back into the grid and offer up a manual drive mode. \u2018What you want will create a car that\u2019s just for you\u2019, added Sato, which is quite some promise. <\/p>\n
Expect all-wheel drive from anything production spec that looks like the FT-Se, with all the exciting torque vectoring possibilities opened up by electric drive. Presumably, it could even go beyond a manual mode and offer up an actual three-pedal transmission; Toyota has been researching the idea, and it would be perfectly suited to a car like this. Even with a lot still to be decided, it\u2019s encouraging that Toyota has designed a two-seat EV sports car that looks this smart. The FT-Se is a proper downsized supercar, big wheels tucked up in dramatic haunches and not an ounce of flab to be seen anywhere. The driving environment looks like trademark mid-engined sports car, too, the nose dropping away and a big wraparound screen promising good visibility. It doesn\u2019t look like any other Toyota, and is all the better for it. <\/p>\n
Quite what the future holds for the FT-Se isn\u2019t yet clear, neither the official reveal nor the subsequent interviews from the show itself revealing a great deal. There\u2019s some discussion about priorities (handling stability and aero performance), goals and ambitions (\u201cwe are making battery EVs like only a true car maker can\u201d, said Sato), without a firm commitment to anything. Probably it\u2019s too early for such assertions. But there is some cause for optimism, given the FT-Se evidently has some foundation in reality in the way it looks and in the fact that its underpinnings are shared with the FT-3e SUV. Toyota has forged a reputation for itself over recent years as the last bastion of great driver’s cars – let\u2019s hope that can continue with something like the FT-Se as the EV revolution takes hold.<\/p>\n