Car Moon

At last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota showcased a concept study of an all-wheel drive hybrid sports car (see here) loosely based on the now obsolete MR2 roadster, developed in partnership with Japan’s GAZOO Racing.

Now the time has come for Toyota to unwrap its successor in the form of the GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II that will receive both its public and racing debut at this weekend’s highly anticipated 39th Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race in Germany.

The name “GRMN” stands for GAZOO Racing tuned by Meister of Nürburgring, in honor of the late Hiromu Naruse (1944-2010), the Toyota chief test driver and head of the GAZOO Racing team who died in an accident last summer driving a prototype of the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition in Germany.

As part of last year’s Toyota Design Internship, industrial designer Eric Leong produced this interesting take on the fourth-generation Toyota Prius for the year 2015.

By acknowledging that wind resistance is one of the key factors in improving vehicle economy, Leong’s Prius III hybrid is extremely slippery. Described by the designer as moving, “through [the wind], not into it”, this design study channels air over its surface through a series of vanes.

Toyota’s FT-86 sports coupe has to be one of the most hotly anticipated cars of the last ten years. A sporty, lightweight, front-engined and rear-wheel-drive spiritual successor to the legendary AE86, brought to you by the same company that built the Celica, MR2 and Supra? Yes, please!

So far, we’ve had three iterations of the “AE86 Nouveau”. First, there’s the original, scene stealing Toyota FT-86 Concept from the2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Then there’s the much derided FT-86 II Concept from Geneva 2011. And lastly, there’s the Ferrari-emulating Scion FR-S that took the 2011 New York Auto Show by storm.

Toyota’s North American subsidiary, Scion, surprised us today at the opening of the 2011 New York Auto Show with the world premiere of its new FR-S sports coupe concept. We say ‘surprised’ not because we weren’t expecting a Scion-badged Toyota FT-86 to make its appearance in the Big Apple, but because of its refined design that made us forget about the FT-86 II concept we saw less than two months ago at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. Read more »

The most hotly anticipated model of the New York Auto Show, Scion’s version of the Toyota FT-86 sports coupe concept, finally made its world premiere today. The study is named FR-S, which stands for ‘Front-Engine, Rear-wheel drive, Sport’, though we prefer the definition given by Jack Hollis, Scion vice president, during the New York Show presentation.

“FR-S stands for Front-engine… Rear-wheel drive… Sport. Pretty simple. I personally believe it should stand for Friggin’ Really Sweet… but the legal department at Toyota was NOT feeling the same way,” said Hollis.

The first thing most readers will notice about the FR-S is the refined design compared to the latest concept version of the Toyota FT-86, shown in Geneva this past March. Though it’s hard to pinpoint all the changes without having the cars side by side, the photos reveal a tweaked front end with revamped headlamps and a different bumper design without the aftermarket like add-on LED strips.

Toyota has revealed photos of the second iteration of its FT-86 Concept car that is said to be very close to the actual production version due to go on sale in 2012. The Geneva Motor Show FT-86 II features several styling differences over the original concept shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.

First off, Toyota's designers restyled the coupe's profile by eliminating the lower swoop line and adding a new beltline that starts from the front wheel arch with a cheesy air vent and finishes off on the tip of the rear window, which itself has grown in size. In addition, Toyota also split the front window and abolished the blacked out A-Column finish, while the rear wheel arches are more pronounced and there are new side rocker panels.

Toyota premiered its first superimini hybrid model based on the next-generation Yaris at the Geneva Motor Show today. The Yaris HSD Concept is essentially a teaser version of the production hybrid model that Toyota will launch in Europe in 2012.

In a similar fashion to the Auris HSD before it, the Hybrid Synergy Drive version of the Yaris features some bespoke styling cues that separate it from its conventional sibling. These include the large trapezoidal lower grille, the vertical “aero” corners housed in the front bumper that minimise air turbulence and the rear reflectors in the rear bumper. Other changes include the 18-inch rims, specially designed to aid brake cooling.

An all-electric prototype of the Toyota iQ will make its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The iQ EV is equipped with an electric motor fed through a newly developed, flat and compact lithium-ion battery that is mounted under the car's floor. According to Toyota, the battery pack doesn't reduce the regular iQ's load area or passenger space. The all-electric version of Toyota's mini car is said to have a potential driving range of up to 65 miles or about 105 kilometers.

The EV prototype is currently being tested on European roads, with a potential market launch through a leasing programme in 2012. The Japanese company will also bring the car in the USA (as a Scion) and is also investigating its viability in other regions.

Toyota is going to have an interesting collection of cars at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March as the second and closer to production concept version of the FT-86 rear-wheel drive sports coupe will be joined by the Yaris HSD study and the new Prius+ minivan, which appears to be the European version of the Prius V with seating for seven instead of five.

An almost production ready iteration of the much-hyped Toyota FT-86 sports coupe concept will be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva motor show in the beginning of March. Along with the announcement, the Japanese automaker also published a teaser shot of the FT-86 II hiding under a garage door. The picture shows the rear-wheel drive model's front end which features a modified bumper that does away with the side air vents and gains a slightly different center grille and more concave surfaces on both corners. Read more »

Along with the new Prius V minivan, the Detroit Show also welcomed the world premiere of the Prius C Concept, which will provide the inspiration for the next Prius Family member that Toyota plans to launch in the first half of next year.

The Japanese automaker said that the production version of the Prius C will be smaller, more affordable and with even greater fuel efficiency than the regular Prius. According to Toyota's claims, the Prius C will deliver the highest mpg of any available hybrid model without a plug in North America.

[Updated] It's going to be all about the Prius hybrid family at Toyota's 2011 Detroit Motor Show stand, as the Japanese automaker revealed today that in addition to the current third-generation Prius and Prius Plug-in vehicle (PHV), the first all-new addition to the Prius range, the as-of-yet unnamed compact minivan seen in the teaser above, will debut along with a new Prius-branded concept model.

[Updated gallery] Apparently the RAV4 is still around, and Toyota has partnered with Tesla to make a new EV version of the SUV so the common man can be just like Tom Hanks. The second generation of RAV4 EV is currently undergoing a 35-vehicle test run and analysis through 2011 (similar to the Mini E's pilot program), with production vehicles set to start showing up in 2012... as long as something catastrophic doesn't happen.

The creation of the RAV4 EV was a two pronged attack: Toyota engineers took care of the powertrain upgrade/engineering as they normally would a mid-cycle product change, while Tesla engineers developed the battery pack and related systems.

Toyota says that the EV version of Toyota's CR-V fighter weighs about 220 lbs more than a comparably equipped V6 model, but retains similar acceleration figures. Due to the weight gain (couldn't we call in Lotus to tackle that?), suspension and steering components had to be properly modified or relocated to maintain proper balance.

Apparently stretched Toyotas are going to be a big thing at SEMA this year. After recently revealing Cartel's "All Stretched Out" Scion xB, it now appears that Toyota will also show off a limousine/rolling office Sienna at SEMA in order to commemorate the popularity of its "Swagger Wagon" video.

Built in partnership with B.A.D. Company, the V6-powered "Swagger Wagon Supreme" wears a coat of Blue Swagger Opal and been stretched 44 inches. Also, this Sienna now rides on 20-inch KMC rims that hide an airbag suspension setup to make it more comfortable and easier to drive on the open road (...).

Due to the 44-inch extension, the roof panel has been replaced with an acrylic unit measuring about 8 feet. The new roof is meant to improve the "functional family vehicle's" interior ambiance.

Do you consider yourself an avid off-road enthusiast, who hangs out more in the wilderness than in the urban jungle? Then Four Wheel Magazine's Project Toyota 4Runner Backcountry might be the vehicle for you. This special 4Runner concept is part of Toyota's 2010 SEMA line-up and is said to have been built as a "self-contained exploration rig."

Here's our second part on the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show's "Design Challenge" with futuristic-looking lightweight concept models from Mercedes, Nissan, Smart, Toyota and Volvo. For the first group of concept studies, click here to check out our previous post.

Say 'hallo' to Toyota's bling-bling shiny iQ Disco, a concept model that was created by the firm's German division purely for demonstration purposes as the oversized Japanese disco ball on wheels will tour dealerships all over the country, starting from showrooms in Cologne.

Another edition of Best Car, another rendered speculation. In its latest edition, the Japanese magazine features a story on a more hardcore version of Toyota's forthcoming rear-wheel drive sports coupe which it names the "FT-86F".

Being that the article was written in Japanese, details are limited, but we assume that the magazine suggests the "F" version would fit between the standard FT-86 and the track-ready "G" model that was previewed in concept form at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon in January.

The trickle of photos on the Toyota FT-86 Concept continues as the Japanese firm's European Design and Development (ED2) center in Nice, France, which is responsible for the coupe's styling, released a fresh batch of pictures and a short video of the rear-wheel drive sports car.

In a couple of shots, Toyota remembers its sporty past depicting the FT-86 alongside the Corolla AE86, Celica and Supra coupes. The updated gallery also includes some of the original sketches from the ED2 center.

During the company's press conference at the Geneva Show earlier this month, Andrea Formica, Senior Vice-President of Toyota Motor Europe, noted that the FT-86 would reach showrooms in early 2012.

Knowing that "the past is only the future with the lights turned on", Toyota hopes to learn from its mistakes and take only the best from its times of yore and apply the lessons to its future products like the highly anticipated production version of the FT-86 concept study.

Or at least that's what the troubled Japanese automaker wants us to believe with the release of this family portrait that places the FT-86 (Future Toyota-86) Sports Concept alongside its closest relative, the Corolla AE86 as well as the Celica and Supra sport coupes.

The FT-86 study, which was designed at Toyota's ED² studio in Nice, France, had its European premier this week at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.