NEWS
No TMG performance cars
Plans for Toyota and Lexus to establish AMG rival have changedA plan to make Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) into an equivalent of Mercedes-Benz's iconic AMG performance sub-brand appears to have been drastically cut back, reshaped or abandoned altogether.
Revealed to Australian journalists during a visit to TMG two years ago by president Yoshiaki Kinoshita, the plan envisaged a range of highly modified Toyota and Lexus vehicles led by the twin turbo V8 LS TMG Sports 650 TMG launched at the Essen show in November 2012.
But during another visit yesterday to TMG near Cologne by Australian media, business operations director Rob Leupen detailed a very different public role for the company best known for running Toyota's defunct world rally championship and Formula One programs, as well as its current World Endurance Championship attack.
"I don't think you will find in the next four or five years a TMG car in any dealership," he declared.
Instead, he said, TMG was providing "ongoing" vehicle development assistance to Toyota across a wide range of areas.
"We are not just on performance, we go everywhere," Leupen said.
Leupen confirmed the LS TMG Sport 650 TMG would not enter production, but he said it had served its purpose as an advertisement to Toyota and others of TMG's capabilities.
"The LS for us is a showcase, it had nearly everything changed; there was new suspension, we changed aero, the V8 turbo, the changes we made in the passenger area. This showed TMC [Toyota Motor Company] what we could do and that in the country where we are located and the technology that is around us means we could do high performance cars."
Leupen made it clear the AMG comparison wouldn't fly because AMG was a manufacturer as well as developer of parts and cars.
"It will never be our intention to be a road car production company," Leupen said.
One project Leupen revealed was the development of what he called a manual-shift gearbox (presumably a dual clutch) for the new generation RC F/IS F drivetrain. He also mentioned development of hybrid technology for the next generation IS F using a manual-shift gearbox.
"That car might be two or three years away but when it does come you will find it has been developed by TMG."
Leupen also explained how there was a two-way transfer of knowledge between Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and TMG on cutting edge technical issues such as hybrid technology, which is now integral to racing in the blue ribbon LMP1 class of the WEC.
"We are doing a lot of prototyping, we are working on diesel engines, we are working on naturally-aspirated engines, we are working on single cylinders, we are working on simulation tools all for TMC. That is starting to increase more and more."
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Written byBruce Newton
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If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
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