Hardly the most attractive car on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon, the TES Concept T-Sports might be one of the most exciting for regular folks in search of an affordable sports car.

Since the first introduction of Toyota‘s FT-86 Concept, rumors have surfaced that the cost of development of the car has risen and that consumers will have to carry that burden by paying more for the vehicle. With Toyota’s plans for an affordable sports car in trouble, the automaker has reportedly been planning a more entry-level version of the car.

No one at Toyota is saying as much, but the TES Concept T-Sports might just be the answer. While about as pretty as Snookie, unlike the reality star, it’s what’s underneath that counts. You see, this early prototype was built by the Toyota Engineering Society (TES) in response to a questionnaire that asked what sort of vehicles they thought Toyota needed to build. The answer: an affordable sports car. And like the FT-86 it’s front-engine, rear-wheel drive.

Powered by Toyota’s 1.3-liter 4-cylinder engine this concept makes 109-hp, but weighs under 2,000 lbs. The car is 150-inches long and 65-inches wide, making it just over a foot shorter in length than the FT-86.

Toyota isn’t commenting, but this concept certainly hints at the fact that engineers are studying plans for a baby FT-86.

Back at Tokyo AutoSalon exhibition in 2011, Toyota Engineering Society (TES) revealed their new concept car called TES Concept T-Sports.

The car was built, based on Daihatsu Copen chassis, coupled with 1.3 engine and transmission from Toyota Cami (Daihatsu Terios) and rear suspension setup and differential from Toyota Altezza. The car is built on FR layout, not like FF layout which the car based from.

SINGAPORE - The radical new Toyota 86 compact coupé is only the first of three new sports car line-ups that the Japanese carmaker is planning as part of a new business model that seeks to create a bond with buyers.

"The 86 is in the middle but we don't know when the other two will be ready," says Tetsuya Tada, the chief engineer of the 86, the first sports car for the Japanese giant carmaker in recent history.

A lightweight 2+2 model, the 86 has a 2.0-litre horizontally opposed engine in front to drive the rear wheels in classic fashion.

Mr Tada continues: "The 86 needed five years to develop, so at least five years is required for the others. A normal passenger car about two to three years. But sports cars need special parts, so it's five years."

Also not determined is whether the other two cars will be coupés or convertibles, or if they will have different engine/drive layouts "because technology changes, so we have to find the best layout".

So it is entirely possible that one of the line-ups could have a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout like the discontinued two-seater MR2 (also called the MR-S in its final iteration).

But one thing is certain - the higher-end sports model is likely to be introduced before the entry-level car.

Mr Tada explains with a smile: "The president (Akio Toyoda) has asked me to make a successor to the Supra as soon as possible." The chief engineer was speaking in Germany at the recent launch of the Toyota 86 Experience to highlight the model's sporty abilities.

"The 86 was not conceived for pure speed but for driving pleasure," he explains.

It was inspired by the AE86 Levin of 1983, the original lightweight Toyota coupé which also happened to be Mr Tada's first car when he joined the firm.

It also has the ability to be extensively customised as per owner's wishes.

"The philosophy of the 86 is that it is an open concept," says Mr Tada.

The conventional way is for the carmaker to produce a car and call it perfect, which means the users don't have to or can't do anything else.

For example, if the rims and tyres are changed, the manufacturer's warranty is void.

Instead, the 86 was created as a car with the potential to change into something the customer wants it to be.

"Why? Because if you ask 100 people what you think of the car, you will get 100 answers. They all have different views," he said.

Hence the open concept, which will satisfy customers because the car evolves with them and make 100 people's dreams come true.

Taking it one step further, Toyota has even made Playstation integration possible.

A black box can record a track day session, and the telemetry downloaded to be played back and shared with other gamers on their Sony Playstation consoles. As a result, the addition of a turbo or supercharger can be simulated to see how it will enhance the naturally aspirated 86's performance.

So far, the success of the 86 has been a surprise, not least of all for rivals Nissan and Honda.

"They realise from the 86's sales that they have to go back to this kind of car. If everybody goes back to their roots, everyone can have a one-make race," says the former racer.

He reveals that Toyota wants to make sports cars again because "it is a very important strategy".

"We have two pillars - an ecological car and driving fun. We must balance these two aims otherwise users won't recognise us a true carmaker."

But Mr Tada notes that the mass production of sports cars has ceased to be a conventional business.

After the financial crisis of 2009, Toyota realised that it could no longer sell cars to dealers to make money because "the car population (was) not going to increase in future".

"So this is a new business model. When customers buy a car, it creates a new bond between the manufacturer and the owner - we do not just profit from selling the car," he said.

Toyota's future sports car line-up is expected to swell to three models after the successful launch of the 86 coupe.

One of them will be positioned over the 86 and is most likely to revive the glory days of the Supra, while the other would sit below the 86. The sportscar strategy was revealed by Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer of the 86, during an interview with the Thai media in Germany last week.

"We are open to collaborations," says Tada, reflecting on the 86, which was jointly developed with the Subaru BRZ. "We are seeking the best solutions for our three-model strategy which will see the 86 sitting in the middle."

Although Tada hasn't specifically revealed the partner, the "collaboration" could have been referring to a recent cooperation programme Toyota announced earlier this year.

After inking a deal to swap diesel and electrified power trains with BMW, Toyota is said to be looking into co-developing a new sports car with the premium German brand.

The tie-up could see BMW supplying a rear-wheel-drive platform to the modern-day successor to the Supra, while hybrid know-how could come from Japan's largest car maker.

Tada concedes that today's petrol-electric hybrid systems used in various applications of both Toyota and its upscale brand Lexus isn't suitable for sporty cars.

"We are now in the development stage [of making a hybrid suitable for sporty cars]," he says.

BMW has earlier announced that it intends to sell a new sports car with hybrid technology under the i8 sub-brand (the i3 will be a five-door city car).

Toyota's first intention of building a Supra successor was showcased in the FT-HS concept shown in Detroit five years ago. It could go into direct contention with the Nissan 370Z Fairlady.

Tada fell short on the details of the new entry-level model slotting beneath the 86.

One possible link could be Lotus, a maker of a compact mid-engine sports car that utilises a four-cylinder 1.8-litre petrol engine from Toyota.

Toyota once made the MR-S (MR-2) mid-engine two-seat roadster and could revive it by linking it to the Elise from Lotus, a troubled sports car maker now seeking new financing for its future models.

But Tada stresses that the baby sports car's concept will similar to the 86 in the sense that Toyota will be open-minded with customer requirements.

The 86 only comes with a naturally aspirated engine in 200hp guise. Toyota is now letting the Japanese after-market sector tune the 86's flat-four 2.0-litre engine in various styles.

Such a move would allow Toyota to assess whether 86 customers would prefer turbocharging or supercharging forced induction if they want more performance.

Tada believes that turbo tech has a disadvantage in terms of engine response and prefers the supercharging concept for its more instantaneous feel.

Mr Tada explains with a smile: "The president (Akio Toyoda) has asked me to make a successor to the Supra as soon as possible." The chief engineer was speaking in Germany at the recent launch of the Toyota 86 Experience to highlight the model's sporty abilities.

Two more sports cars planned by the Japanese automaker with FR-S/GT86 to sit in the middle.

If you're a fan of the Scion FR-S (aka Toyota GT86 or Subaru BRZ), then you'll be thrilled with the latest news from Top Gear. Speaking with FR-S chief engineer Tetsuya Tada at an international media event in the Philippines, Top Gear discovered that the nimble little sportscar is just the first of a trio Toyota has planned. While you might expect that to translate to two more upscale models, the GT86 will actually ultimately emerge in the middle of the sportscar trifecta.

"The first is more mass-market and cheaper than the 86," Tada revealed. "And the third is more upmarket than the 86." Still in the conceptualization stage, the pair of new Toyota sports cars are five years from production, with the higher-end model potentially to stand as the successor to the Supra. The lower-end model could take up the place of the MR2, but likely not with a mid-engine layout. With the FR-S sold in the United States as a Scion and the LFA as a Lexus, the jury's still out on which brand the pair will be marketed under, though.

Back in December, we reported that Toyota was considering two more sports cars to go along with its hugely successful GT 86 (Scion FR-S), and now we can confirm that the Japanese automaker will be creating a successor to the Supra as quickly as it can.

Chief engineer of the 86, Tetsuya Tada, recently confirmed that the GT 86 is the first of three new sports car models coming from Toyota. Unfortunately though, we may be waiting at least five years before we see either of them in production form. The good news is, the higher end model which is the successor of the Toyota Supra will be coming first.

When speaking in Germany at the recent launch of the Toyota 86 Experience, Tada confirmed that president Akio Toyoda has requested him to “make a successor to the Supra as soon as possible.” The Japanese automaker also acknowledged that creating sports cars is very important to the company’s strategy.

As for the lower-end model, Tada left the door open to speculation saying that a successor to the MR2/MR-S could be coming in the form of a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car or perhaps even a convertible.