Part II - Toyota excludes designs that will prove problematic to sell worldwide
This category includes cars that have used exotic materials, exotic techniques or unviable drivetrain choices to achieve their goals. All these cars are great and only failed to take Toyota as a global entity into account!
Smooth VG-12 by @AirJordan: 4:36.02
There’s always one in the crowd who has to be the clown. When everyone else said “why?” to a V12, AirJordan said “why not?”. An artifact of my, in hindsight, overly generous budget and cryptic design brief, the Smooth VG-12 is fast, frugal and oh so smooth… But it would bankrupt anyone who wanted to own one with high registration costs, expensive maintenance and intense insurance premiums! Oh, and the 3dr upright hatch shape didn’t do this submission any favours either, IMO.
Verdict: Maybe take it to Auto Salon but thumbs down from the VP’s of Production and Marketing!
Trueno by @Denta: 4:43.79
This is a really nice car let down solely by the use of titanium rods. The 86 is mass produced and titanium is expensive and mainly comes from Russia, so this precludes effective production schedules. The design is really nice and the car is well thought out so this choice was an unfortunate oversight. Good car!
Verdict: It could’a been a contender but it’s conrods took a dive!
Osprey Turbo by @DoctorNarfy: 4:42.79
Another contender that was let down by the use of exotic materials plus exotic building techniques! As well as a magnesium block, the Osprey has a glued aluminium chassis with FRP panels! Cutting edge, certainly, but this design isn’t mass produceable and won’t be able to supply the volumes required for worldwide consumption.
Verdict: A fresh design for Lotus to build a next-gen Elise upon.
Ramia-AE by @koolkei: 4:39.86
Oh this choice hurt, it really did. The inclusion of a magnesium block killed this car. The car is punchy, fuel efficient and I personally love the look but the VP of production was adamant: Exotic equals expensive and there’s no way around it. An excellent entry cut down before it’s time…
Verdict: A really nice coupe; would make a great Nissan competitor once the Mag block was changed.
DSD-Tidal by @Darkshine5: 4:46.32
If koolkei’s exclusion hurt then this exclusion was agony! This crazy little coupe charmed me the moment I saw it and the combination of I3 power, AWD and smart choices made for a very cool concept. Yes, the design is a little OTT but it isn’t ugly and is a trademark of DSD design. Titanium rods and the fact that the engine was on it’s limits is what killed this design; there was no engineering headroom for turbocharging in the aftermarket and the fuel economy wasn’t great for the engine size chosen. Ironically the quirky I3, which drew me to the design, was the cause of it’s failure as an I4 or V6 would have been less stressed and wouldn’t have needed the titanium!
Verdict: Would make a great Citroen to be a left-field choice against the 86.
Marauder GT by @nialloftara: 4:39.43
The perfect example of lore getting in the way of victory! No direct injection means that Toyota is not interested in your entry, despite it’s exceptional nature, plus the V8 makes it impossible for young drivers to register or insure in markets other than the USA. This car looks excellent, was well thought out and I love that it’s lore-friendly but, since Toyota used the 86 to showcase their DI prowess, the lack of DI killed it. Maybe you could have contacted one of the DI savvy companies to make some lore to justify it’s use for this competition but as it stand; Toyota says no…
Verdict: Lore 1: Competition 0 (And that isn’t a bad thing IMO)