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Cars > Vision

JMS 2023: The Toyota FT-Se hints at a carbon-neutral sports car

Will we see the return of the legendary MR-2 nameplate?

A future carbon-neutral Gazoo Racing sports car? PHOTO BY SAM SURLA

A formidable combination of Toyota’s motorsports expertise and need to be carbon-neutral by 2050, the FT-Se is the brand’s contribution to manufacturing environmentally sound cars for the motoring community. It aims to satisfy our need for speed—with a clean conscience. The company showed off the concept car at the 2023 Japan Mobility Show.

The GR010 Le Mans Hypercar influence is very strong here. PHOTOS BY SAM SURLA

The two-seater sports car sits low and wide, making for a solid base when running at high speeds and while drifting—exactly how this car should be enjoyed in the first place.

New technology can be found even in the knee pads to protect the occupants from g-forces, making the driving experience more memorable. It encourages the lucky driver to be a bit more creative and, well, crazier in his stunts.

Its futuristic cockpit is punctuated by the yoke-style steering wheel, with some of its fully digital instrumentation and controls sitting lower on the sidelines to allow a clearer visual of the road ahead. Minimal distractions, more enjoyment.

No specifications have been made available, but its battery is strategically mounted low and at the center of the wheelbase, breaking away from the conventional expectation that BEVs need to stand tall.

With shared EV technologies as its sleeker sibling, the FT-3e shows that this new platform is very adaptable. PHOTOS BY HAZEL IMPERIAL-TAN

Its crossover sister, the FT-3e, which also made its debut in this year’s Tokyo festivities, is said to share key components. We can presume that the battery technology is one of them.

And the best part? From the looks of it, it seems close to production. Toyota has previously announced that it targets to launch an electric sports car by 2026, and the FT-Se could be just that.

Fingers and toes crossed that it reaches our shores by then.



Hazel Imperial-Tan

Hazel is the marketing and sales director of VISOR. Prior to joining our team, she had spent a good number of years in brand management. She’s a doting mother to two boys who, perhaps by inevitable fate, happen to like cars a lot.



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