Do We Really Benefit From New Car Data Leaks?
How would you feel if you were planning a special surprise for a friend, but someone else couldn’t keep their mouth shut and let the secret slip too soon? You’d be pretty annoyed, right?
That’s how Toyota must be feeling right now, if the apparent Supra MkV leak in Japan’s Best Car magazine is as accurate as we’re being led to believe. The FT-1 concept surfaced in 2014, so work on the new Supra was clearly going on for some time before that. The engineers’ well-earned sense of anticipation, built up over about five years of hard work, has been deflated like an old birthday balloon.
As humans, we can empathise with that. When you’ve put all that effort in, to have your own rug swept out from beneath your feet is a bit unfair. On the other hand, we’re part of the automotive media. We have a responsibility to bring you the car news that affects and interests you. Judging by the scale of CTzens’ reaction to the two Supra stories we’ve posted this week, you really do care about this car.
Toyota’s loss, then, is your gain. You get to pore over the details before the appointed time. There’s the 335bhp BMW-sourced straight-six, the length and width boost versus the compact GT86, and a kerb weight that might just count against it, slightly. Those specs now reportedly include a 3.8-second 0-62mph time, too. But is there any space for compassion, even if it’s for a multi-national corporate leviathan?
Toyota had a chance to craft an elaborate reveal for the car. It would, and no doubt still will be a great show, full of light and spectacle. But the surprise; the thrill we might have felt at seeing the rebirth of a legend, won’t be there. The leak has taken it away.
Should you care that Toyota’s latest big day has been ruined? Should we? The morality of (usually web-based) leaks depends on which side of the fence you stand. You could say the car was fair game. It has been in real-world testing wearing camouflage for what seems like forever, so maybe some people would argue that it’s practically public anyway.
Toyota’s supporters would say that it’s Toyota’s right to decide when the car bares all, and that that right has been taken away by a car magazine – and the viral hunger of the Internet. In that sense, if there’s guilt to be shared, then we have to share a part of it.
But we can’t simply ignore a leak when it happens. You wouldn’t want us to, would you? If the cat is already out of the bag, what’s the point in looking the other way?
With leaks on the web becoming more and more common, we want to ask you what you think. Would you prefer to wait for the full, official launch so you have all the data and you know it’s gospel, or do you hate the often lengthy build-ups and PR campaigns, and do you prefer all the info as soon as possible? Either way, for better or worse, the corporate leak seems to be a reality of the digital age.
Comments
I do feel sorry for Toyota. I mean they have been working on this car since 2014. That’s 4 years from now, four years of clever engineering and people working late at night trying to make the car as best as it could be. I mean they have been criticised for making slow boring cars and now they are making a fast sports car. However, the only benefit from this is that the supra is not dead Toyota has a spark inside the company and the spark has led to this. To this is say well done Toyota well done.
I Agree…Nothing but Love and Respect for Toyota
Is this really as bad for Toyota as you think? The Supra is surrounded by aftermarket culture and a remembance of the height of JDM when magazines like this were all the rave. I would argue that having us take our first look at this car in one of these magazines only adds to the hype. It brings back memories of the mid 90’s and nostalgia can be a bigger influence than you would think.
But the nostalgia isn’t real, there won’t be a Neo Tuning revolution taking us back to the days of epic JDM tuners. I’m pretty sure the Supra is going to be as accessible to young people as a corvette and if every former JDM superpower revived their top level cars at the time they’d be the same way.
I think these leaks often happen on purpose. If we were to never hear of it until it is revealed at an auto show then we would get all excited about it and then stop talking about it. With the slow “leaks” of info Toyota gets to stay in the headlines and continuously build up hype. Then by the time it actually comes out we have talked about it so much that more people will want it
The thing is, when you reveal a car, you either get praise or hate. Getting hate is normal, but at least you know you did your best and that’s it. Now tho, car leaks and people call it ugly. AND you can’t change it becouse it’s too late. So you just have to look at the car, knowing you will get hate, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, since you have to work on other components.
simple answer: no!
whether its intentional or not, we like auto shows like Geneva for example as we get to be suprised by stuff being revealed for the first time, or being suprised!
whats the point if we already know whats gonna happen at a reveal, when we already have pics of the car from annoying websites!
i hate this new trend.
i want my mommy.
Exactly, imagined if the new Ford GT was leaked instead of it being a secret.
Gonna get the most hate but to be honest i like leaks. Unlike most of you guys i dont have 12 hours to sit around and anticipate what a car maker is going to drop next, also way too busy and unconcerned to follow the hype of these cars. Leaks provide me with a quick look, a chance to form my opinion and skip the whole boring sitting and watching/ waiting on reveals from a car show from your chosen media outlet. I really dont like exuberant car shows and reveals, just let me see it and go.
On the other hand i do think leaks should be controlled. It’s like movie spoilers, some of us love them some of you dont so instead of blaring it out everywhere CT should have a group for leaks only so for people who like to sit and wait they still have the opportunity to do so.
It’s annoying.
Let me answer that.. YES AND NO..
Manufacturers could benefit somewhat because the could start manufacturing body kits, engine parts, etc. Companies including Liberty Walk, rocket bunny, top secret and other countless manufacturers of aftermarket car parts. Hopefully we have launch control in the MK5 so we can have some crazy outrageous launches.
yeah but for that they’ll probaly need a fysical copy or a full digital copy.
and i think it’s nice to see such cars drive around stock and as companys make stuff they’ll graduatly mod it.
But aftermarket companies need an actual car to use, they could design a kit before launch and then realize that they would have done something fatal to the car’s usability. Then it’d be wasted time and money
Yeah but Toyota could say, give them the images but make sure they weren’t leaked, instead of some a**hole stealing and leaking them
i really don’t like leaks, that’s the reason im willing to unfollow ct on instagram, and the only reason.
i think it’s a dbag move and it anoys me.
i want to wait and see what the company is going to do for a reveal, and then see the car.
are the doing the biggest corckscrew?
are they drop it from a militairy plane?
will they make an replica of an older version and pull it apart to reveal the new one?
It’s like spoilers of movies from fans, tbh. Yes, you’ve watched the preview version and you recorded it with your 2mp potato cam and now you reveal lots of juicy secrets that you think only you know. You’re saying to the world: “See my awesomeness and pat me on my back! Coz I’m awesome”
Honestly, it’s childish and immature. They should stop it and wait like grown ups for the actual thing… Just my 2 cents…
I’m going to be the idiot and point out that 2MP is equivalent to the resolution of 1920x1080. I know what you mean, though.