REPORT: Forthcoming Prius coupe to be designed in Italy
Following last month's news of a Toyota Prius coupe coming to challenge the Honda CR-Z, another Japanese magazine reports that Toyota will use an Italian design firm to style the two-door. The CR-Z was inspired by the CRX, yet in design and philosophy, it is likely to be quite different from the Honda Insight. If there's any truth to this latest rumor, the Prius coupe, on the other hand, will be based on the sedan and be just four inches shorter. And even though the companies behind some of the world's most fabulous cars – Pininfarina, Guigario – have been mentioned, the coupe is expected "to be very close to the current Prius."
[Source: 4WheelsNews]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dr Detroit 9:09AM (8/26/2009)
FIRST! Don't they trust thier own designers? Guess not !!!
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derek 9:31AM (8/26/2009)
All I can say is:
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Soon....all our Toyotas will be looking like F430s.
adrenalnjunky 10:32AM (8/26/2009)
did you just "FIRST" an autoblog post?
Sheesh.
Randy 10:32AM (8/26/2009)
Can you say "Ford Fiesta Clone Job"?
fixitfixitstop 11:03AM (8/26/2009)
Firsties suck. Period.
fixitfixitstop 11:08AM (8/26/2009)
Also, many, many cars produced by makes of all nations were styled by Italians, especially by Pinanfarina.
Alex 9:12AM (8/26/2009)
Does Toyota have any sporting intention with this coupe beyond it being a two-door? I'm excited about the CR-Z because Honda has stated that they intend to make it a sporty car that just happens to be a hybrid. If this is just another sedan turned coupe like the Camry/Solara then no thanks.
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Bart 9:19AM (8/26/2009)
Well if anything I hope it doesn't look like the Prius sedan. There's no reason for it to look that way, and there is no reason for every hybrid to look similar when even an E-class coupé has the lowest drag coefficient.
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Luis 9:24AM (8/26/2009)
Toyota has a history of using Italian designers for their cars. The original GS300 was a Giorgetto Giugiaro's Ital Design studio creation.
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letstakeawalk 11:02AM (8/26/2009)
...after, of course, the design was turned down by Jaguar. Toyota tweaked the "Kensington" quite nicely.
dumblikeyou2 9:33AM (8/26/2009)
The rear looks an awful lot like the Volt. I'm sure it doesn't in person so save your responses, but at first glance, that was thought.
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katshot 9:41AM (8/26/2009)
Damn! This the second car I've seen on Autoblog today, that surprised me. I say surprised because i actually like it. The first being the Mini Coupe.
You have to wonder when the Fed will allow OEM's to omit side mirrors, especially on these cars. It's gotta drive engineers nuts. They test, and test in wind tunnels to shave the bodies to gain the most slippery designs, and then they have to stick mirrors on it!
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xspeedy 9:49AM (8/26/2009)
But it will still drive like a Toyota.
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SayWhat? 10:20AM (8/26/2009)
Meaning reliable, but boring as all hell?
P.V. 10:20AM (8/26/2009)
Well, it looks a lot nicer....
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Jimbo 10:25AM (8/26/2009)
Why are they copying the 2010 Tucson front end?
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XJ 10:31AM (8/26/2009)
My thoughts exactly...
http://contagiros.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/hyundai_ix35.jpg
Chibi Chaingun - blackhivemedia.com 10:32AM (8/26/2009)
I like that pic. If it looks like that, it'd be the first Toyota I've really liked in years. I used to love almost everything Toyota came out with.
Toyota reminds me of Nintendo these days. It's like the "casual" market for cars and games, respectively.
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Rich 10:48AM (8/26/2009)
For anyone wondering if there are any insights (ahem) in the Japanese text -- no. The nearest thing to a shocking revelation is that the Japanese use the correct pronunciation of "coupé", as opposed a chicken house.
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Kreator 11:05AM (8/26/2009)
Haha... copied the design language of Hyundai HED-6 concept.
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