While fooling around on IED's (Istituto Europeo di Design) official website we stumbled upon an interesting project with ten proposals for the Toyota Prius of the no so far-away future created by the students of the Transportation Design Course of IED Turin in 2007. Even though the students were supposed to design the Prius of 2010-2015, the resulting hybrid vehicles look more like the Prius of 2035, but then again, artistic minds do have the tendency to drift away in time...Source: IED
Rumor has it that Toyota is developing a roadster version of its newly introduced iQ minicar that will make its first appearance in concept form at the Tokyo Motor Show to be held from October 23 through November 8, 2009. This latest speculative rendering that comes from Japan's Motor Magazine depicts a Daihatsu Copen-like two-seater roadster with a set of protective roll bars that is based on the underpinnings of the iQ.If the rumors turn out to be true and Toyota does decide to go ahead and build a production variant of the roadster, then it will most likely be equipped with the same powertrains as the iQ hatchback, including the 1.0-liter and 1.33-liter gasoline engines and quite possibly, a 1.4-liter diesel. However, since we have a long way to go before the 41st Tokyo Salon opens its doors to the public, we're keeping this on Rumorville for now.
Source: Motor Magazine
It may have passed your attention, but Friday was the opening day of the 2009 Melbourne Motor Show. Aside from the Camry Hybrid study, Toyota also revealed two new locally developed show cars in Melbourne. The modified Yaris and RAV4 are the result of collaboration with Australian promoter of street car shows and events, Auto Salon. "Basically, Toyota gave us the cars and told us to go crazy," said project leader William Ng.
Starting off with the Auto Salon RAV4, the show car stands out thanks to its bright red pearlescent custom paint job, massive 22-inch wheels and tires, new front and rear bumper panels, deep side skirts and "shaved" external door handles. Furthermore, Auto Salon equipped the RAV4 with a custom-built airbag suspension that allows the compact SUV to be lowered on its wheels by up to 250mm for display purposes and then raised again for driving.
The Auto Salon Yaris is an even more extreme proposition distinguished by a camouflage paint-scheme and modified "double-wide" bodywork featuring guards that have been heavily flared to house over-sized 17-inch raised titanium lip wheels and 245/40 Michelin Pilot Preceda tires. The city car's suspension has also been modified with the addition of Buddy Club coil-over suspension adjustable for ride and rebound.
Other modifications include the addition of race-style TRD Recaro driver and front passenger seats, a TRD instrument gauge cluster mounted on the steering column and a high-end Fujitsu Eclipse sound system featuring four amplifiers and six sub-woofers.
In about a year's time, Toyota will begin production of a hybrid version of its latest-generation Camry Sedan in Australia that will be available for sale in the local market. To celebrate the countdown and of course, cause a bit of a buzz around the model, Toyota decided to present a concept version of the car at the this week's 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show. Dubbed HC-CV for Hybrid Camry Concept Vehicle, the study has been developed locally by Toyota Style Australia.
Using the recently updated Camry Hybrid as a base, Toyota's Australian design team adorned the saloon with a new fascia featuring vertical fog lamps, larger lower opening and a streamlined upper grille. The "aero" theme continues along the side skirts and the rear-end with the diffuser. The HC-CV's looks are complemented by headlights with a blue hue, new alloy wheel design and, satin chrome front grille, mirrors and rear boot-lid garnish. The body color is a unique satin white pearl with subtle blue highlights.
Inside, changes are limited to the seat embossing that echoes the exterior grille mesh with a tree bark-like pattern and the satin chrome accents.
