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Toyota brings TRD Griffon GT86 to Goodwood [w/video]

In the midst of the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, there's a particularly special Toyota running up the hill. This special entry is a GT86 (the cousin to our Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ) that's been poked, prodded, and tweaked by the minds at Toyota Racing Development. The result of TRD's fettling is a nearly race-ready car.
Starting with the body, the hood, doors, trunk lid, and wings are all made of carbon fiber. The lightweight treatment doesn't end there, though. The bumpers, fenders, and diffuser all feature carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, while the windows are now made of polycarbonate plastic.
Under the hood sits the same 2.0-liter boxer engine found in the standard GT86, but its six-speed manual gearbox features a shorter final drive ratio for improved acceleration. The coilover suspension has been firmed up, and a TRD mechanical limited-slip differential replaces the Torsen unit. The TRD Griffon rides on TWS 18-inch wheels and Yokohama Advan tires. To bring proceedings to a stop, TRD has fitted its own mono-block caliper kit, complete with more robust racing pads.

Oh, Kei Go: Toyota set to enter JDM minicar market?

Toyota is looking to get bigger... by going smaller. The Japanese automaker is looking to enter the kei car market, a popular segment in its homeland. Kei cars are small vehicles with restrictions on length (11.15 feet), width (4.86 feet), engine size (660 cubic centimeters) and power output (63 horsepower). Currently, Toyota is the only Japanese automaker not producing vehicles for this segment, but that is set to change, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Thanks to its relationship with Daihatsu, Toyota can jump right into the kei car game. Daihatsu is one of the largest producer of kei vehicles and it is currently owned by Toyota.
Although kei cars are restricted in terms of size and power, they are not restricted by technology. Automakers utilize different drive configurations, powertrains and amenities to keep their cars fresh. Daihatsu and Toyota plan to work together to produce Toyota-branded kei cars. The two companies will utilize Toyota's knowledge of electric and hybrid systems to produce efficient little vehicles for the Japanese market.

Two new RWD Toyota sports cars to join FR-S?

Toyota as we know it could become a thing of the past. According to Australian site Car Advice, the Japanese brand known for bland cruisers like the Camry and Corolla is preparing to bring two new rear-drive cars to market that would slot above and below the Scion-badged FR-S. This is very, very good news.
Car Advice spoke to the GT86/FR-S' chief engineer, Tatsuya Tada, who claimed, "Akio Toyoda always says to me, Toyota sports car [family] should be three sports car brothers. 86 is in the middle." The oldest "brother" would be the spiritual successor to the Supra, even if it doesn't wear that name. Tada is in charge of that project, while a sub-GT86 project is being headed-up elsewhere.
Tada refused to comment on names (CA specifically mentions MR2 and Celica) for the new small car, but did say that, "Yes it is rear-wheel drive and that's Toyota's strong position - Toyota sports car must be rear-wheel drive." Perhaps the juiciest bit of information obtained from Tada's interview with Car Advice was his hinting that both new sports cars would be joint ventures, like the GT86/FR-S/Subaru BRZ triplets. Tada wouldn't say who Toyota was in bed with on the smaller model, but did mention that the Supra would be a product of the world's largest automaker's partnership with BMW.