"I was totally surprised - and I liked it so much I arranged for my expert takumi prototype craftsmen to hand-build the Shooting Brake concept based on the Australian design." Those are the words of Tetsuya Tada, the Toyota engineer who has become renowned worldwide for creating the lithe, swift little GT86 coupe. It would not be too much of a stretch to say that he is worshipped within the Toyota ranks as an engineer of rare ability, but his latest passion project is a one-off bit of Australian madness – the GT86 Shooting Brake estate.
As with many an appealingly oddball car, this one was the creation of Toyota's Australian division designers working in their spare time on a seemingly mad idea. Nicolas Hogios, Toyota Australia's design chief, said his designers relished the opportunity to work with the 86 due to their love of cars, especially sports cars. "Designers are always thinking beyond their current project - our creative minds are always wandering," Mr Hogios said. "Many of us drive the 86, including myself, and we wanted to explore ways to expand its appeal while retaining the purity of the coupe. Very quickly, we realised the car's silhouette lends itself very well to a Shooting Brake theme. The standard car has quite a good-sized boot, so the Shooting Brake idea with a larger opening at the back makes it quite practical indeed. As well as having more rear head room and cargo space, it also enables an owner to use roof racks to carry surfboards, bikes and storage pods."
The team quickly realised that they didn’t actually want to change that much, as Hogios explains. "Like kids in a lolly shop, we thought about restyling more of the car; however, like a good parent saying 'no' to too many sweets, we made the conscious decision to keep as much of the original 86 as possible, only changing what was absolutely necessary. As a result, we have expanded the appeal of the coupe while intentionally retaining the purity of the now-iconic 86 style," he said.
It certainly caught Tada-san’s attention. A combination of computer-generated imagery and a quarter-scale clay model won him over almost immediately, and he became something of a champion of the project within Toyota. "The concept car is a fully functional, driveable vehicle that has been put through its paces on Toyota test tracks” said Tada. "The nicely weighted and direct steering of the 86 ensures the car retains the involving drive experience of the coupe with a slightly more neutral feel in tight corners on a driver's favourite road. While we never say never, and I would love this concept to become a production reality, it is very much a concept that demonstrates the passion within Toyota for cars that are fun to drive.”
Sadly it seems unlikely that the Shooting Brake will ever make it to production, even as a limited edition model, but it’s a useful piece of flag-waving for Toyota in Australia. Along with rivals Ford and Holden (part of General Motors) Toyota has announced that it’s shuttering its factory in Australia, where it builds the Camry. The plant will close next year, but the GT86 Shooting Brake may well be seen as proof that the Australian outpost can still contribute to the empire.
