Being one of the favorites at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon that opened Friday in Japan, Toyota couldn't but present a concept model of its latest generation Prius hybrid. Like the FT-86 G Sports Concept that also made its world premiere today at Japan's largest tuning show, the Prius G Sports Concept previews a new series of performance models based on series production cars called "G Sports" that will be sold through Toyota's dealers in Japan.
The G Sports package includes all kinds of cosmetic and performance goodies, but curiously enough, none that concern the gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain...
What it does get is a full body aero kit that adds a completely new nose, a different rear bumper that houses the twin tail pipes of the sport exhaust system, rear wheel covers (sic...), side skirts, carbon fiber mirrors and a rear wing.
The LED daytime running lights and the larger alloys shod in beefier wheels complete the exterior mods.
Inside, the Prius G Sports Concept gets a pair of body-hugging Recaro seats, a leather steering wheel accented by red stitching, aluminum pedals, new dashboard trim as well as 'G-Sports' branded gear lever and start button.
The performance upgrades include a new sport suspension that lowers the hybrid car's ride height by 30mm, underbody aero parts, a sport braking system and what Google translates as "reinforced body".
23 Comments:
oh lord!
this is the ugliest car, i've ever seen.
even the fiat multiplo looks better.
What the hell is wrong with these people? The Prius is ugly, in its old form and the new model, and no amount of added stuff is going to ever make it look any better, so why bother?
How anybody, even the designers who undoubtedly spent hours on this, can find anything to be proud of in this design is beyond me.
WHAT IS TOYOTA SMOKING? HORRIBLE!
it reminds me of the way new cars used to be debuted with a sheet over them...except in this case the sheet is actually part of the design! toyo's design geeks have really outdone themselves this time. in your face honda.
there is only one way to be green a sporty.
It appears that both Toyota and Honda have forgotten that magic formula and instead heavily relied on unappealing wedges and with afterthoughs glued on.
who are they trying to impress?
in all fairness, it is typical for it's given market. for our shores, it is truly odd. i do like the new prius sold in the u.s. toyota and honda deserve credit for going green while our automakers produced millions of big, bold and brass trucks and suv's, leading to the cash for cluncker's program, government loans, plant closing and layoffs. yes. the car shown is damn ugly, but i give credit to it's maker!
We would not have the decent ford fusion and chevy malibu that we do if not for the united states automakers attempting to match the outstanding quality of past and present honda accords and toyota camrys. now, we are trying to catch up with the compact and subcompact class of vehicles these companies have been producing since the beginning of time. gee, we has the vega and pinto! not much since, imo.
toyota doesn't deserve fuck all credit for being green. did they not open a dedicated truck factory in texas just to build the tundra? Do they not sell gas guzzing suvs too? Do they not offer the highlander and FT-cruiser built off a chassis that is over 25 years old?
Or are you going to turn a blind eye to all that?
I agree with those in support of Toyota and Honda. The informed fella reporting above is speaking of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s - decades of small and medium sized vehicles that even GM, Ford and Chrysler admit to attempting to match with the introduction of every similar type cars, trucks and suv's. We appreciate Toyota for building many of their cars and trucks in the United States. Every major car company should build vehicles that are inclusive to the needs of their customers. The Highlander is available as a hybrid, mind you. An impressive, powerful one at that. Any one can see the large number of affordable, gas saving cars (i.e. camry, corolla/matrix, accord, civic) and suv's (i.e. rav4, cr-v) on the top 10 best sellers list for last month and in 2009 (source: Wards). Sir or miss (^), look at the CAFE of Toyota and Honda vs. the "Big Three" U.S. brands. Facts are facts.
^ +1
yes. our cars are improving, but the push came from the public demanding toyota and honda quality and mpg from our very own cars.
Men and women, let's try to refrain from unnecessary four letter words like the "F" bomb (^). My teenage son is a car fan. I hope this site does not turn into a for 21 years of age and over adult entertainment one. Relax! Have fun. Talk cars, but really!
i appreciate all of the expert opinions of late :)! carscoop has grown to be fun and informative. i like the comments from show goers, especially this auto season. welcome!
now, about the car previewed above. the 2010 prius is a cute car with guts. the version shown on this page looks like a joke. a kids project. could it be? i think the laugh is on us. truly, eh?! a candid camera moment, i think. lol!
did not mean to offend any one! only the industry. hehehe...
looking beyond the exterior, the inside is pretty nice! i like the red accents inside and out. the front and rear are cool. the side needs a lot of work.
I just a close look at the interior and find it to my liking. The seat pattern should be available on a special edition here. The Prius for 2010 is a cool car, but not for everyone. I am thinking of one as a second car. i avoided the previous generations as I did not like the shifter (minor issue) and was disappointed that a sunroof was not offered. I like the sunroof with solar panel available on the '10. The leather is of high grade. May not be for modern day hippie-types. That is a plus for me. My other car is a Chrysler 300C AWD.
Anyone else not suprised how toyota's gas guzzing suv's was glossed over by the above posters?
^ no. toyota makes far more cars and small suv's like the rav that make up for their slower selling thirsty models. it is cool to get a hybrid in the highlander and now a 4 cylinder in the new minivan. they are doing their part. you can have your cake and it it, too. kudos to gm, as well for the hybrid caddy suv. sadly, chrysler dropped the hybid in the aspen and dodge durango suv's, but then eventually discontinued them to make room for an all new jeep grand cherokee and dodge (but apparently not ram) suv. toyota has led the way in lowering the cafe. there is no denying it. i still think they should continue to offer choice. the diverse line-up of cars and trucks keep the scale tipped towards higher mpg overall. this is obviously important in these difficult times of high fuel costs and troubles in detroit. btw, the highlander hybrid is pretty powerful. i have yet to drive a cadillac escalade hybrid, as i cannot afford the price of one. the toyota venza, a new camry based suv/crossover is a looker. i think it probably gets impressive mpg. it is much roomier than the rav4, but not highlander. i sat in all of the vehicles above at the show.
Venza=21/29mpg. Price: About $26,000 and up. Not bad. It does look nice. Not boxy. According to the web article, it is available in either a 4or6, with a Camry-based hybrid coming shortly. even better. ^ Thanks for the tips, guys!
CAFE of 35.5 must be achieved by 2016. According to government statistics, Honda should be the first automaker to meet the standard. Toyota is expected to be the second.
I do not want to see trucks, including large SUV's disappear, but they need to improve upon dismal mpg via hybrid, cvt's, better std. transmisions and clean diesels. Also, we need to bring better small cars out, like Honda and Toyota has for many years. Our small cars SUCK!!!
Lexus has a Hybrid RX that get 29.0 (est.). I think it looks pretty sharp and it is rated pretty high in all regards. Like most vehicles, you add a couple of opts. and i bet the price balloons. If I had the money, I would seriously look at the RX, even in non-hybrid form. Most SUV's are boxy. This one has great curves. Looks nicer than the Highlander, but i think the Toyota is larger than the Lexus. Not too certain. BTW, is there a Lexus version of the Highlander? If the RX is it, it looks TOTALLY different.
i appreciate the talk about mileage. this is a toyota prius thread, btw! i just logged on because i am a serious car shopper. for me, being here is more than looking at pretty pics and race cars. i would not expect this heading to include the "tundra" as some gear head male, i think, lashed out about. being a mom helping my husband and children by working outside of the home the very first time since the kids started school, it is time for a second car and we want it to be brand new or a dealer or factory demo. we have googled "automobiles" and provided additional information leading us here. thank you for including high mileage cars and trucks. i learned about corporate average scoring for the very first time. i am leaning towards a prius. not flasy, but attractive enough. the high gas mileage and consumer ratings are key in making an informed decision. the price, not as much of a factor. gear heads? my hubby warned me.
God,this is awful. What drugs are they on?!They want it to be more aerodynamic,they should instead shape it like a submarine and put four wheels on it.
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