Giving credit where credit is due isn’t always easy when corporate egos are involved, a fact illustrated by recent dissension between joint venture partners Subaru and Toyota concerning who deserves more credit for the sports coupe project that resulted in the GT 86/BRZ twins.
Subaru’s Australian managing director, Nick Senior, has claimed that car’s sharp handling and sporty soul are attributable to Subaru.
“The product planning and the design was done by Toyota but the rest is a Subaru. And I think the rest is the DNA piece that gives it its driving characteristics. It’s a fun car to drive.”
Senior’s words followed an earlier comment from Toyota 86 chief engineer Tetsuya Tada stating that all-wheel drive (a technology implemented in all Subaruvehicles save the BRZ) added unneccesary weight and could contribute to a glut of technology items that make driving “boring.”
“Many new sports cars have high-performance tires, turbo technology and four-wheel-drive,” Tada said. “The car is controlled using high-tech. As a result the car is heavier, the prices are higher, so it’s not affordable to everybody.”
“Cars are fun only when it is the driver that is in control. That is what sports cars should deliver to our customers,” he said.
The back and forth between Subaru and Toyota executives hints at the sometimes tumultuous give-and-take between the companies that existing during the development of the GT 86/BRZ twins.
“Both Toyota and Subaru has their own philosophy and pride in car making,” Tada said. “There was a lot of frustration, arguments and discussions.”
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