Category: Toyota

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New vehicle sales report – March 2012

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Figures from the FCAI reveal 97,616 new vehicles were sold in March. Comfortably the best month of the year to date, it’s also a 3.9% increase on numbers from March 2011.

Seems we’ve still not come to our senses and continue to buy SUVs at a rate of knots. “SUVs continue to dominate Australian car sales, accounting for 28 per cent of all new car sales so far this year,” FCAI Chief Executive, Ian Chalmers said. “Combined with small passenger cars (23.6%) and light passenger cars (13.0%), these three segments make up 64.6 per cent of new cars sold this year.”

Toyota, Holden and Mazda were the three best selling marques. Although it’s a bit scary that Toyota sold almost as many cars as Holden and Mazda combined last month.

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Motorsports Toyota Video

There’s no replacement for displacement

Max Orido's Toyota GT86 V8

The advent of the tuner’s blank canvas that is the Toyota 86 hasn’t taken long to be exploited. In fact, all that’s left of this one is the outer shell, pretty much. Gone is the pissy 147kW 2.0 litre four cylinder boxer engine, replaced by an altogether meatier 311kW 5.0 litre V8 from a Lexus IS-F.

Yep, that’ll void the warranty. And it’s the most extreme Toybaru we’ve seen so far.

Japanese SuperGT driver Max Orido is the man behind this creation and it seems he’s also pretty serious about his drifting. There’s three videos for you after the break. The in-car footage is pretty amazing to see, and best to start at around 5:50 we reckon. If you want more check out the build thread from Tune86 using the link below.

Enjoy!

[via Tune86]

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Top Gear Toyota

Top Gear special coming to outback Australia?

Toyota Hilux prepared for TopGear

Top Gear and Toyota are shouting about some newly modified Hilux models prepared for the show. Of course, it’s a successful combination that has conquered the north pole and that volcano in Iceland which nobody can pronounce.

We’ve thought for a while that the last remaining frontier for the Top Gear specials was the Australian outback. We’ll find out for sure where these new Hilux creations are heading next month when all is revealed in Top Gear magazine.

Look, there’s not really much to go on to think the Top Gear lads are headed down under, but a couple of possible clues are revealed with the ARB stickers and the off-ground sleeping accommodation.

ARB is an Australian company specialising in 4×4 modifications which began in the mid 1970s, their website says: “Back then, 4WDers relied on home made or ill fitting equipment that was not designed for extensive Outback expeditions. Endless corrugated roads, extreme temperatures, and the heavy loads carried by Australian travellers were extremely punishing on vehicles that regularly tackled these kinds of conditions.”

We also know that James, Jeremy and Richard are not particularly fond of creepy crawlies, not to mention slithery snakes; we do some pretty nasty ones here in Australia. So having sleeping accommodation that is off the ground is probably a wise idea.

They’ve also ensured the roof rails are strong enough to carry extra fuel. Something that is essential with the outback’s immense distances where it can be days between one town and the next.

We may be way off the mark here, but we reckon the Top Gear blokes are coming down under and we welcome them with open arms. And redback spiders. And tiger snakes. And hungry crocodiles. At least they should be pretty safe from great white sharks.

[Source: Top Gear & Toyota UK | Thanks to Wes for the tip]

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Toyota

VIDEO: First peek at the Toyota 86 TRD in action

Toyota GT 86 TRD performance line

We must have been napping in January when the Tokyo Auto Salon was on and the Toyota GT 86 TRD Performance Line was first shown. Three images and a few paragraphs from a press release gave us the first look back then.

Now we have the first video of the TRD GT 86 in action. You can watch that after the break and wonder what it would be like to drive the TRD enhanced 86 on the tight slalom course shown.

Here’s the relevant text from January’s presser, which explains more about the TRD GT 86:

Even in showroom guise, the new GT 86 has the looks and performance to command attention. The Tokyo Salon shows that package taken to another level in two new styling interpretations from TRD and Modellista that make full use of modified parts and accessories.

Key handling features added to TRD Performance Line GT 86 include a reworked suspension with new front and rear anti-roll bars, a carbon front strut, rear diffuser, additional cross-bracing and a high-response exhaust system. Finished in Satin White Pearl, the coupe gains a full body kit with skirts and spoilers, 18-inch alloy wheels and sports seats and meters in the cabin. Likewise, the Modellista interpretation of the “hachi-roku” (eight-six) shows some of the customisation possibilities the car offers.

These versions are shown alongside the Gazoo Racing FT-86 which competed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2011. The team has announced it will return to the event this year with a specially prepared GT 86.

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Subaru Toyota

Reality bites

Scion FR-S

The creation of the Toyota 86 and the mostly identical Subaru BRZ was designed to revive the enthusiast market keen to let rip in a relatively lightweight, back to basics, rear-wheel drive coupé. Given the global interest, and also right here in Australia, it’s fair to say things are going to plan so far.

Part of the car’s rationale was also to keep costs to a minimum. In its purest form the Toybaru won’t be a luxury cruiser, it will be a basic template for owners to build upon and tailor to their exacting needs.

At this point in time local pricing has not been announced, but it’s widely accepted you’re going to need somewhere in the vicinity of $40K to play ball. They might be less, but not significantly so.

In the United States the Toyota 86 is sold as the Scion FR-S and their entry-level pricing has just been announced.

$24,200.

It’s not the first time we’ve whinged about AU$–US$ pricing on AUSmotive, and with our still quite advantageous exchange rate it remains a bitter pill.

[Source: WCF]

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2012 Geneva Motor Show in pictures – part 2

2012 Geneva Motor Show

Here’s the second and final part of our 2012 Geneva Motor Show photo gallery, featuring manufacturers from L–Z (well V actually). Highlights include the Aventador J pictured above along with a reappearance of the stylish Mazda Takeri concept. The awesome Pagani Huayra is also on show, check the raw carbon fibre model, it looks sublime. Oh, we’d love to hear what you think of the Valmet Automotive Dawn, if it was a person it would no doubt be referred to as one weird cat.

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New vehicle sales report – February 2012

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Last month Australians signed off on 85,723 new vehicle sales, that’s almost 5000 more than February last year. A bit over half of all vehicles sold were classified as passenger cars. Fair enough. But around one quarter, that’s one in every four sales, is now an SUV. Shame on you people!

FCAI Chief Executive, Ian Chalmers is just happy that punters are splashing their cash. “The SUV market has clearly made a strong connection with auto customers by meeting their diverse needs,” he said. “This is demonstrated by overall SUV sales being up 23.8 per cent (4,505) since last month and 26.6 per cent (9,578) compared with February last year.”

Toyota was miles ahead of its nearest competitor, Holden, on the overall sales charts. While Mazda is having a turn as the third best seller nation wide, a position that generally rotates between them, Ford and Hyundai.

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Toyota

Toyota 86 convertible given green light

Toyota 86 convertible rendering

The Toybaru will be going topless, according to chief engineer Tetsuya Tada. Speaking to Autobild, Tada said, “The GT 86 was designed from the outset [so] that we can build it as a convertible.”

Last year we showed you a rendering of a Subaru BRZ convertible. A decision is yet to be made on the production of a topless BRZ, but if Toyota does it you’d expect Subaru won’t want to miss out.

We’re not really sure if chopping the roof off the Toyota 86 is the way to go for this particular car, but we don’t make the decisions at Toyota HQ!

[Source: Autobild via WCF]

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New vehicle sales report – January 2012

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Australian automotive sales have started strongly in 2012 with a total of 76,783 sold. That’s an increase of 3199 sales compared to the same month last year.

Sadly, we think, the growth is due in part to the seemingly insatiable appetite the Australian market has for SUVs. In this segment sales were up almost 30% on 2011 figures.

“This is an encouraging January sales result and provides a good start to 2012,” FCAI Chief Executive Ian Chalmers said.

“It is mostly being driven by private and business buyers of SUVs and car rental companies updating their passenger car fleets. The number of private buyers for passenger cars declined by 8.4 per cent compared with this time last year.”

Toyota, Holden and Mazda have started the year as the top three selling marques.

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Motorsports Toyota

Toyota confirms entry into 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship

Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1

Toyota confirmed overnight that it will be entering two TS030 Hybrids into the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship. One car, wearing the number 7, will be driven by Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazui Nakajima. The drivers for the second car will be announced shortly.

Yoshiaki Kinoshita, team president, said: “The circumstances for the championship changed suddenly in recent weeks and Toyota Racing considers it important to work together with the FIA and ACO to establish a successful future for endurance racing. We have done everything we can to show our support and we look forward to an exciting season, including the opportunity to race two cars at Le Mans.”

The TS030 Hybrid will make its competition debut at the Six Hours of Spa Francorchamps on 5 May, which is the second of eight races on the 2012 WEC calendar. Toyota will attend all remaining seven races, including, of course, Le Mans (16–17 June).

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Toyota

Chris Harris on the Toyota 86

Toyota GT 86

Chris Harris has just filed a review on the Toyota 86 over at PistonHeads. There was no promise of an extensive drive, just a thrash around the flat Jarama track in Spain. But the hype around the car meant a few laps was still worth the trip.

Here’s a few snippets and we recommend you take the time to follow the link below and read the full article:

…when you ask Tada-san, the engineering boss in charge of the project the usual, turgid, Nurburgring lap-time question, he just shrugs and smiles. He doesn’t care: “This doesn’t matter.”

In the scheme of a mass-market, rear-driven coupe which panders to the lusts of people like us, it seems like a frivolous observation, but to me it is a powerful metaphor for the direction in which this new product takes fun motoring: the GT 86 is about driving and the driver; not about numbers and performance.

It’s in the faster turns that the GT 86’s chassis balance brings the first big grins… Turn in and the nose pushes just a fraction wide, but it really is a tiny shift because you then feel the weight move back through the bodyshell… Not in some gratuitous drift, but that you—the driver—have as much control over the positioning of the car with your right foot as with the steering wheel.

Sounds very promising.

[Source: PistonHeads]

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Motorsports Toyota

Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1 racecar revealed

Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1

After last week’s brief twitter preview, Toyota Motorsport has officially revealed its new LMP1 racer, which is heading for Le Mans later this year. It’s called the Toyota TS030 Hybrid and it runs a conventional 3.4 litre V8 petrol engine. Final spec for the hybrid components will be finalised after more testing has taken place, but the plan at this stage is to run two electric motors, one at each axle.

The TS030 has already completed a few hundred kilometres of testing at Paul Ricard, as these photos suggest. For now Toyota has only committed the TS030 to racing in the Six hours of Spa (5 May) and Le Mans 24 hour race (16–17 June). Participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship has not been confirmed, but is clearly on the team’s radar.

Toyota will run two cars at Spa and Le Mans, but only three drivers have been announced to date. Former F1 driver Alexander Wurz will be joined by Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima.

While they would clearly like to win Le Mans, Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President, has set achieveable goals: “Of course we would love to win Le Mans; that is the dream for all competitors in this race. But we are realistic and we know we need to develop and to learn in order to compete with some very strong competition. Our target this year is to show the performance level of our car and particularly the THS-R powertrain. Hybrid is a core technology of Toyota so it is important to demonstrate this in a motorsport arena and we want to prove it can bring a performance advantage, both in terms of lap time and fuel efficiency.”

Speaking after his first drive of the TS030 Alexander Wurz said: “It was cool to drive the TS030 HYBRID car for the first time. Just leaving the garage on the electric power is very futuristic, then when you let the clutch go and the internal combustion engine kicks in it is like an old friend has returned! When we put on the slick tyre I could feel the car generates a very good amount of grip so I think we have a good base and I think we can turn this into a really fast car.”

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