In a recent interview with EVO, Toyota Gazoo Racing chief Tetsuya Tada hinted that a successor to the MR2 was in the pipeline. But he also made some interesting comments about the Japanese brand’s so-called “boring” products.
Tada-san touched on why he believed many of Toyota’s products lacked the excitement that was evident in so many of its vehicles years ago. In fact, he bluntly blamed it on the structure of the business in recent years.
“Some time ago, Toyota became number one in terms of units sold, producing very practical and environmentally friendly vehicles only. I myself was chief engineer on one,” he told EVO.
“But at shows or drives with journalists I’d be asked if I was enjoying these dull cars. To be honest, we did think it was a bit boring,” he admitted.
“There was a period when, if we tried to create a nice car that we wanted as engineers, there would then be instructions from higher up to hurry along to launch and reduce costs for more profit,” he revealed.
Tada-san added that the brand’s renewed focus on driver-orientated cars – such as the Toyota 86, the upcoming Supra and now perhaps even an MR2 successor – was thanks to current Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, who he said understands that engineers must “have passion in creating a vehicle”.
“That started some years ago and now you’re seeing the results of that,” Tada-san said.
