The Five-Star Car That Almost Didn't Get Built

摘要

The Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ is a brilliant driver's car but it very nearly didn't happen. Mere's a philosophy with which we can all agree: Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer on the GT86 project, is holding court on why sports cars have been getting too fast, heavy and complex, and decries the modern-day "insatiable appetite for power". We've been talking about how the GT86, winner of last year's Autocar handling day, might be made to go a little faster and lose a little weight, which, he admits, could have its appeal. But what I really want to know is how, really, did the GT86 come about? How, in the modern, corporate, cash-strapped world, could something so indulgent ever have a chance of fruition? Tada smiles. This, I can see, is his favourite subject and his engine is revved. "The project started at an executive board meeting in 2007," he begins. "We felt that people around the world were losing interest in cars, so how could we get that interest back? By making a sports car, I suggested. I'd looked at the existing product range and there was nothing I wanted to buy."