BMW/Toyota joint venture has progressed to the stage that Magna Steyr in Austria will be the build base.

BMW and Toyota have picked Magna Steyr to build their upcoming roadster developed from a joint platform, according to a report.

The next generation BMW Z4, likely to be called the Z5, and the Toyota Supra successor will run off the assembly line in the contract manufacturer's plant in Graz, Austria, starting 2018, the Kleine Zeitung local newspaper reported. It said annual production of 60,000 cars is planned for the two models.

BMW has said it will contract Magna Steyr to build a new model next year after it decided to end production of the Mini Paceman and Countryman in Graz this year but has not named the model. The Countryman likely will be built at the VDL Nedcar factory in the Netherlands that already produces the Mini hatchback, although BMW has not yet disclosed the new production location. The Paceman is being axed.

A Magna Steyr spokesman said the company was not yet permitted to say which BMW model would replace production of the Paceman and Countryman.

Spokespeople at BMW and Toyota Europe declined comment on the Kleine Zeitung report.

The current Z4 has been on the market since May 2009 and BMW executives said early this year that no final approval had been given for a replacement despite the completion of feasibility studies.

Demand for two-seaters is largely dormant, which prompted BMW to ax the Mini Coupe and Roadster, along with the Paceman. Z4 sales fell 47 percent in the first quarter and the model accounts for just three-tenths of 1 percent of BMW brand’s volume.

When asked then by Automotive News Europe whether it was still financially worth competing in the roadster segment, BMW CEO Harald Krueger said the company's cooperation with Toyota would help. "BMW has a long roadster tradition," he said. "We will occupy the segment once more. It's not big, but it's important for the strength of the brand."

Magna Steyr is a unit of Canada's Magna International and its specialty is building low volume cars, ideal for a niche model like a roadster. The Graz factory currently builds the Mercedes G class SUV and will add an as yet unnamed Jaguar Land Rover model in 2017. Production of the Peugeot RCZ coupe at the plant ended last year.

Earlier this month Magna Steyr said retooling works at the Graz plant are on schedule and will be completed next year. It forecast that annual production at Graz will surpass 200,000 vehicles in 2018. Last year Graz built 103,904 cars.

Christiaan Hetzner

Report Here

CALTY: Home of the Toyota FT-1

Toyota’s FT-1 coupe concept was a show-stealing success when it broke cover in Detroit in January. Much credit for the car’s huge impact is due to the work of Calty, the West Coast studio that’s been spearheading Toyota’s new design thinking for more than 40 years.

The team’s success is reflected in the fact that around 75 per cent of the concepts it has created have subsequently gone into production. Fans might see this as auguring well for the prospect of the FT-1 making it into showrooms, but at present the high-performance sports car remains purely a concept model.

Calty – an amalgam of California and Toyota – was established in 1973 as a beachhead for Toyota design in North America and was the first studio to be opened by a major motor manufacturer in the state.

In the early days, its activities were kept firmly under wraps: “Given the security surrounding vehicle design, we kept it as a hush-hush operation. Some locals thought we were a small manufacturing facility, or even selling T-shirts. Early on, it was so low profile, we were not allowed business cards,” said Doris Kusumoto, Calty’s Financial Manager.

The team developed their ideas and their influence, celebrating their first design to go into production, the Celica Liftback, in 1978. In the same year Calty moved to Newport Beach, where today it employs 65 people in an 8,000m² design space. Designs are generated using a full range of creative skills, from sketching and clay modelling to CAD programs and fabrication.

Calty gained prominence as Toyota’s status grew in the global market, earning more design responsibility and influence.  In the late 1980s, its designers focused on coupe studies, leading to the development of the original Lexus SC, a model that made a strong visual statement about what the young luxury brand stood for.

With a growing emphasis on regionalising product development, Calty opened a subsidiary design centre in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2004. This made for easy collaboration with the nearby Toyota Technical Centre to support local production design efforts such as Tundra and Avalon for the American market. Keeping pace with advances in global technology, Calty added the Toyota Innovation Hub in San Francisco. Strategically locate close to Silicon Valley, this entre was an important step in Toyota’s mission to work closely with new technology, social media and design enterprises.

The FT-1 symbolises, in the words of Calty president Kevin Hunter, “a new chapter for Toyota global design”. He said: “We see FT-1 as symbolic of an evolution in our mission as we move toward designs that better balance key emotional and rational elements as part of our brand promise.

“Calty will be integral in the movement to bring more emotional, more satisfying and engaging Toyota designs to market.”

Toyota unveils its Ultimate sports coupe concept.

A daring new Toyota coupe concept breaks cover at the Detroit motor show today. The new FT-1 concept is the result of Toyota’s Calty design studio’s mission to create the ultimate sports car.

The California-based team, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, has produced a car that is strikingly modern, yet which makes reference to Toyota’s rich sports car history, going back to the 2000GT of the mid-1960s.

The exterior captures the look of racecar with a curvilinear form, pronounced front wings and sharply defined contrasts that express powerful performance. The FT-1’s optimum aerodynamic qualities are communicated by its large air intakes, exhaust ports and retractable rear wing.

The front engine/rear-wheel drive configuration allows the cockpit to set further towards the rear of the car, within the wheelbase, helping improve weight distribution and create classic sports car proportions. The wraparound windscreen and side glass arrangement are a clear nod to the design of the original 2000GT.

The ergonomics of the cabin capitalise on the car’s low centre of gravity, helping the driver derive the maximum reward from the driving experience. A delta-shaped display zone helps make the driver feel at the heart of the action, fully connected to the car. This quality is reinforced by the Formula 1-style steering wheel and a colour head-up display that projects key information just above the wheel. The designers have pushed the A-pillars as far back as possible, to increase visibility when cornering.

Traditionally Toyota’s design decisions have been driven by consensus among a large group of people; as part of a company movement to give Toyota products more energy and passion, the process has been streamlined. This approach has been fundamental to the development of the FT-1, a concept that captures Toyota’s aim of creating cars that connect more deeply with customers and generate a more satisfying ownership experience.