Toyota Supra Chief Engineer Says He Wants Porsche to Help Make the MR2
When it comes to building low-volume sports cars, Toyota seems to prefer to team up with other manufacturers. For years it has been co-developing the 86 with Subaru and just a few months ago, it launched the next-generation Supra, powered by a BMW engine.
And at a recent press drive for the Supra in Japan, when asked about which automaker he’d like to work with on a potential revival of the MR2 — Toyota’s other iconic sports car — Supra chief engineer Tetsuya Tada didn’t hesitate to say “Porsche.”
Tada has hinted before at bringing back the MR2 as part of a modern “three brothers” sports car lineup for Toyota, and while it’s not clear whether he was being serious or simply joking when he mentioned Porsche, it certainly wouldn’t be out of character for the Japanese automaker. Nor would it be a new experience for Porsche, which has a long history of building mid-engine cars like the MR2.
Toyota certainly seems very committed to putting out more sports cars and also sportier versions of its regular cars, and we already know the automaker isn’t one to shy away from working with others to reduce costs and speed up development — something it does in other areas too, not just when it comes to making sports cars.
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And Toyota isn’t new to working with Porsche specifically, either. A few decades ago, Porsche’s production floor was not the squeaky-clean, optimized thing that it is now. The German automaker had turned to Toyota for help, eventually overhauling everything and adopting the Toyota Production System. Today, both Porsche and Toyota vehicles are consistently ranked among the most reliable in the world in part thanks to system.
Notably, there would be benefits to a Toyota-badged, Porsche-built MR2. It would probably be less expensive than if sold by Porsche, but would come with the backing of the Toyota factory, which tends to have more readily accessible and affordable parts than Porsche, a company that operates at a much smaller scale.
We think it’s more likely that Tada was joking than not, but we’re hoping a Porsche rep saw the comment and promptly got on the phone to get in touch…
We think it’s more likely that Tada was joking than not, but we’re hoping a Porsche rep saw the comment and promptly got on the phone to get in touch…
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News Source: Auto Industriya
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