It may only be a concept for now, but Toyota's GRMN MR2 Sports Hybrid study that was unveiled today at the Tokyo Auto Salon may very well form the technological base for a similar production sports car in the very near future, according to reports from Japan.
Developed in cooperation with Toyota's racing and tuning partner Gazoo, the concept is a two-seater, all-wheel drive hybrid sports car based on a modified version of the platform used in the now obsolete MR2 roadster.
Underneath its widened body, the MR2 concept gets a mid-mounted 3.3-liter V6 petrol engine that drives the rear wheels and the company's THSII hybrid system with the electric motor propelling the front wheels.
The combined output of the hybrid system and petrol engine is estimated to be in the range of 400 horsepower
Power is transferred to the wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with paddle shifts.
Toyota did not release any performance figures, but if you take into consideration that the 400HP plus roadster tips the scales at just 1,300 kg or 2,866 pounds (official data), this pocket rocket promises to be nothing less than fast.
10 Comments:
Can this be a test car for the engine of the next Supra?
a lot of great things are coming out of toyota! i hope they will continue to be the bench mark for the u.s. group... from spunky small calls, to trendy scion vehicles, to grand lexus cars and trucks to a full array of coupes, sedans, trucks, suv's, crossovers and now sports cars. listen up gm, fmc and chrysler, so i am headed for a fleet of toyota products.
baby, baby, baby... please call it supra. toyota, you know how to desin a stunner! good 'nite camaro, hello toyota!
damn, their show looks far better than detroit!
this car is worthy of a different name. mr2 (for mid-engine, rwd, 2-seater) is what it stands for, but compared with the mr2 sold in the u.s. years ago, this updated car and special version deserves something extra special to set it apart.
hybid and 400 horses! GREAT :)
It's the same version as the one that went out, with some extra body parts and special custom frame. They'll need to do a style update and try to offer a DSG, like they did in the last outgoing model. A CVT isn't going to cut it for true sports fans.
^ i hear you, but i think very few true sports car fand ever bought the original sold the in united states. sporty car vs. sports car often can be defined by h.p. and price. the extra body parts might for a nice looking ride!
A shame the Pic' was cropped to chop off the top of beautiful Mt. Fujiyama.
Big HP numbers don't get my interest any more, even in a hybrid. EV performance and increasing 'MPC' do.
Can't wait to see a CARSCOOP report that brings the first news of an EV that does 0-60 in 4 seconds and has a 350 mile range with an hour full recharge.
3Deuce27
True. The original didn't immediately emit Sports car unlike its preceding generations. A 135hp motor packaged with a light body felt like a pocket rocket and a go-kart combined together.
The great thing though is that ... the 2nd generation version of that motor spurred 180+ Hp versions held in the Celica GT-S and Matrix XR. In addition, it also spurred a 250+ HP thanks in part to Lotus sprucing up the Toyota motor.
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