Toyota to tackle Europe with hybrid sports car
As it slowly gains on General Motors as the top automaker in the world, Toyota is planning to bolster its lineup by filling in the sports car slot with, what else, a hybrid. The company says that withithout the Celica and MR2 in the lineup, the full benefits of its participation in Formula 1 is effectively being wasted.
Not only will the vehicle be a hybrid, it will also target the likes of BMW and Mercedes. Europe will be the biggest battleground for the automaker anyway as it expects sales there of more than one million Toyotas and 45,000 Lexus models this year. The new hybrid sports car is expected to contribute to Japanese juggernaut's goal of selling over 1.2 million vehicles in Europe by 2010.
[Source: Bloomberg]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Juan 1:07PM (6/20/2006)
You know Toyota, we don't have a MR2 or Celica over here, either. Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge.
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Ted K 1:07PM (6/20/2006)
Toyota sports, hahahahah!!!
aaaaahhhhhhhahahaha!!
wait, wait, i'm not done HOLDING MY SIDES YET
hahahahha!
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JZeke 1:11PM (6/20/2006)
Is this the LF-A supercar? Ive seen word that the supercar might be a hybrid... does this confirm that or is there another Toyota sports car in the pipeline?
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JMa 1:34PM (6/20/2006)
"...withithout the Celica and MR2 in the lineup, the full benefits of its participation in Formula 1 is effectively being wasted".
How about money, time effort. There F1 program is so mediocre, they should consider withdrawing completely, or becoming an engine supplier execlusively.
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pavster 1:37PM (6/20/2006)
Toyota sport... what's wrong with that? Remember Supra, three generations of MR2, Scion, Lexus IS? Face it, toyota now is what GM was 50 years ago. It too had some boring cars, but it also had some amazing cars.
-pavel.
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Glenn A. 1:38PM (6/20/2006)
Ted K, so what in the world did you perceive the 1965-1970 toyota 2000GT to be, a haywagon?
Lessee.... it had 1988cc (121 cubic inches) of inline six cylinders, dual overhead camshafts (like Jaguar), and belted out 150 hp, well over the 1 hp per cubic inch that the Corvette fuelies could do in 1965. The Corvette has clunky overhead valves to this day, man.
How about the 1985-1990 Toyota MR2? Is that a taxicab? No? How about a mid-engine 2 seater? Yeah.
OK, how about the 1988-1993 Toyota Celica GT AWD? Pretty darned advanced if you ask me.
You don't like that? How about the 1991-1995 Toyota MR2? Still mid-engine, you could get it turbocharged for as much as 200 horsepower. Just a Toyota, eh?
Lets look at the 1993-1998 Toyota Supra. As much as 320 horsepower with turbocharger.
That's just counting Toyotas which have been sold in the US and are listed in my book "The Complete Book of Collectible Cars."
A Toyota, collectible? Yeah.
A Toyota sports car? Yeah.
A reliable Toyota sports car? Yeah.
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Jeff the Baptist 1:51PM (6/20/2006)
How about something they've made in the last 8 years, Glenn A.?
All you've shown is that they've gone an entire automotive generation without a decent sportscar. Longer than that when you consider that several of your cases are wholy dependent on the aftermarket for real performance.
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Ted K 1:54PM (6/20/2006)
I like to drive the mini cooper in my capri pants. Now how you like that?
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epp_b 1:55PM (6/20/2006)
Let's see a show of hands from whoever wants to buy a hybrid sports car...yeah that's what I thought.
Nobody who buys a sports car does so to hug more trees or save money on gas. It's a sports car, for crying out loud! They're supposed to do exactly the opposite of that!
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HardwareGuy 2:05PM (6/20/2006)
Toyota needs a cheap sports car to fire up younger buyers and to get them mentioned more in the automotive press. Toyota has no sports cars; Scions have no soul, they're just cheap reliable transportation; and you can't even get the IS350 with a manual transmission. I used to drive a Corolla, but Toyota is effectively dead to me now. A BMW/Mercedes competitor is not what they need.
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Andy 2:25PM (6/20/2006)
Actually, people don't buy a sports car to "do the opposite" of hugging trees and saving money on gas. I certainly didn't buy my vette with the mindset of, "Wow! Look how much gas I can suck down!" I wanted my car to:
1. Go Fast
2. Go Faster
3. Handle well
4. Maybe go even a little faster
None of those goals are at odds with a hybrid drivetrain. Now... a fuel sipping 0-60 in 10 seconds drivetrain is at odds with those goals, but not all hybrid drivetrains are Prius drivetrains.
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Sid 2:33PM (6/20/2006)
"MR2, Scion, Lexus IS"
If you're equating those cars with 'sport', you need to drive a BMW or Mazda.
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Dubbedinenglish 2:35PM (6/20/2006)
A Toyota hybrid sports car......This will prove to be the most "disconnected" and uninvolving sports car on the planet.
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JZeke 2:57PM (6/20/2006)
Id buy a hybrid sports car...
engine in the middle, driving the rear wheels, and a compact electric motor driving the fronts. Granted id prefer it was made by Porsche, Lotus or Subaru...
And theres nothing wrong with a sports car with less enviromental impact. Hell, if supercars pursued diets like McLaren and Lotus so fastidiously have shown they would perform better with less too!
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me 3:10PM (6/20/2006)
how about the toyota volta?
http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/volta.html
"408-hp Hybrid Synergy Drive® (a 3.3-liter V6 with an electric motor for each axle) not only delivers 435 miles on a 13.7-gallon tank, but 0-60 acceleration in a mere four seconds."
i actually saw this on the road once...except it was on the back of a flatbed tow truck. who says toyota cant build a hybrid sports car?
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Egg 3:28PM (6/20/2006)
Here in Europe, I very much miss the Celica and the MR2, both were a nice change from Toyota's boring car lineup.
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Esemtee 3:30PM (6/20/2006)
Hey Sid, I have driven a Mazda, and that's why I bought my tC, thank you.
For the rest of you hicks, there should be nothing wrong with owning a Toyota. They are still a very reliable, affordable vehicle. I own 2 and both have given me no trouble. Oh, and most of them are now built here in the U.S.! "American made" means jack as far as cars are concerned. Until Ford, GM, and Chrysler build something worth buying, and the majority of normal buyers agree on it, then I will consider an American car.
Keep bringing the ideas Toyota! At least you're trying to do something new!
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Raysea 3:55PM (6/20/2006)
Glenn A states "The Corvette has clunky overhead valves to this day, man." and yet the Corvette claimed victory in GT1 at Le Mans, fourth overall! The clunky overhead valves statement is rather like someone saying that Porsche continues to develop its rear engine model, despite the fact that the approach is technologically backward. If you look to the results, rather than your own biases, you'll see that a great many feats are possible.
Let me add to the comments about being green and driving a sports car. Currently, the Corvette (particularly the Z06) achieves the best mileage for a really fast car. If the hybrid technology is used to actually increase horsepower while saving fuel, I will be one of the first in line.
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PJ 4:39PM (6/20/2006)
"Toyota sports, hahahahah!!!...."
Wow. So, let me guess, you're one of those guys that hasn't actually set foot in a Toyota in twenty years, but assumes that everything they build must be as boring as the 1984 Camry your babysitter drove. By your logic, a Corvette must necessarily drive like a Caprice.
Are you also thinking that a Fox-body Mustang is a sports car? Or maybe a GM F-body? Okay. Go drive, in this order, a Celica GT-S, an MR2 Spyder, a '90s MR2 Turbo, and a Supra Turbo. I'll be waiting for you with a knife, a fork, and some crow.
Not all enthusiasts are unaware, self-absorbed yahoos who feel they must model themselves after Brock Yates to be a "real car guy." I've personally been waiting for a hybrid sports car for years. I'd have been happy if Toyota plunked the Prius engine in a Celica platform, or if Nissan had put the upcoming Altima's hybrid 2.5 in the SE-R. This new Toyota, depending on looks and the driving experience, could very well be my next car.
As long as Toyota can preserve the pin-sharp control feel, chassis balance, and powertrain involvement of the cars noted above--no electric steering, please--it could be a major success.
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digitalzombie 5:06PM (6/20/2006)
YES! HELL YEAH! Been waiting for a sport car that eat lil fuel. I'm hoping it's as light as the MR2 Spyder. Was thinking about buying a used porsche boxster hehe. But the preminum fuel plus the gas prices = make me sad. Heck, i was hoping infiniti would come out with a diesel G35 coupe hehe like the Mercede E class.
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