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Naruse:"The reason why we created a compact FR? That is quite simple. Let young car owners have as much as fun as possible with a fun FR! Other than that, there is no special reason whatsoever".
Naruse, one of the "top gun" test drivers at Toyota and the man who supervises all the concept car development projects at GAZOO, said this matter-of-factly.
"I started asking each one of the young guys at our engineering section, 'what kind of car do you really want to drive?', and then there were more than one hundred ideas! Obviously everyone was hungry for a pure joy of driving".
He lovingly recalled the time where the development has first started several years ago.
"Then we narrowed the ideas down to this one - a 1,500,000 yen FR sports car. When I again asked the guys "do you want to drive that?", everyone delightedly nodded! That is how we decided to make it. When we actually made the car and tested it, it was fun! Then we decided to show it at Tokyo Auto Salon".
Naruse's way of getting new ideas is always simple and straightforward. First he thinks about what kind of car he would want to have, what he wants to offer to young car lovers to have. When he has a clear picture of that, that marks the beginning of another car development project.
"When we were young, there used to be a lot more compact FR models than now. Now it is different. All the compact cars are front-wheel driven, and there are no reasonably sized FRs any more! That is too sad. What we intended to create is a casual, fun-to-drive car like KP-61 Starlet".
A compact body and FR drivetrain … even just hearing these words is strongly inspiring! It makes me want to actually try the car right away. The idea is that much attractive. However, anyone can talk about ideas and inspirations. What takes a lot of work is to actually make it happen.
"We secretly started working on the idea within the engineering section. Then a proposal came from somehwere within the company that "this much development budget can be prepared for that idea. Do you want to take it?" But I replied "No way!"
Kinoshita:"You mean you asked for more money?"
"No, that is quite the contrary. I said "that is too much budget! If we spend that much money making it, how can we build an economical car?"
Usually, everybody would gladly take any budget offered. With more money available, there will be more freedom in the development work. But Naruse declined.
"The car has got to be built economically, or it will not be affordable for young people. If it is not, that is not what we intended to do at all."
Stubborn all the way!
"Luckily, Toyota has a huge variety of parts in inventory so it was not very difficult to find what we needed. First we obtained an export-spec FF Aigo chassis and mounted on it a 1.5-liter serial four-cylinder engine designed for FR configuration. Luckily, there was a perfectly sized FR unit in our group".
Just as Naruse described, I saw at the shop that the chassis contains a serial four-cylinder unit longitudinally mounted in the front. The engine is positioned as if it almost dives under the bulkhead. It is a front midship! This is a kind of look that suggests high responsiveness.
"It is not just a matter of sticking an engine onto a chassis. We are deadly serious to make this thing good! For the best drying fun, you have to have a midship. What is why this car is a midship. That is how it is."
It would not have been as easy as like he says it was. It must have taken tremendous amount of work to make such original idea actually come true. However, Naruse again does not make any issue out of this.
"The rear suspension is a double wishbone system. An FR does not only need to turn, it has got to turn STABLY. So we spend a little bit of money on the rear. Thanks to that, this car has a better linear stability than FF!"
With that comment, he lovingly patted and stroked the body of the car and smiled contentedly.
Most of the cars that Naruse has worked on are primarily "easy to drive". Like Supra and LEXUS LFA, each of the cars offers superior sport driving performance but yet is made handleable for a wide range of users. They are not intended for a small number of professionally skilled drivers.
"Cars must be something safe, and that applies to sports cars as well. I believe I designed the car to run in a thrilling and sporty manner but to turn or stop fully dependably when it has too. I hope I have been successful."
Being small in displacement and compact in body size, FR Hot hatch belongs to a completely different class of cars than Supra and LEXUS LFA, and most likely would be priced at a totally different level as well. However, the basic development principle for FR Hot hatch is the same as for those highest-class sports models.
"We also avoided adding too many high-tech features. It is not my style to overdecorate. Think about a very good noodle dish. Without expensive toppings like tempuras, a good noodle dish only needs to have good, carefully prepared noodles and soup. That is how I tried to develop the car, to have very good basics."
There he laughed again.
The development could not have been that easy. Developing a compact FR, a rare thing in today's automobile industry, can never have been easy, but Naruse does not even hint that it has been difficult. He enjoys what he is doing just like a child building a plastic model plane, it is simply a pleasure for him to build a car and to let people enjoy it. Unless the people making a car enjoys making it, the car cannot be fun for users to drive. I was convinced of that as I talked with Naruse that day.
"How much I am satisfied with the car? Well I could take it to the road right now, but will still continue working on it. Whatever people says, I am NEVER going to compromise about a car …"
