the sa was toyota's first true post war design. it differed from all previous toyota cars by having a 4-cylinder engine (previously a 6-cylinder was used), 4-wheel independent suspension (previously using rigid axles with leaf springs) and a smaller, "ponton" influenced aerodynamic body. the project was driven by kiichiro toyoda under the wisdom of his father's (sakichi toyoda) words, "stay ahead of the times" but most of the design work was done by dr kazuo kumabe.