Category: Toyota

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Green Machines Toyota

Toyota Yaris-based Hybrid-R concept teased

Toyota Hybrid-R teaser

Toyota is bringing a 400hp Hybrid-R concept to the Frankfurt Motor Show and here is the first teaser image. Toyota says the concept is based on a current production model and will employ technology found in its TS030 Hybrid LMP1 racecar.

We’ve fiddled with the image to try and reveal a bit more and found that speculation the concept is based on the Yaris Hybrid appears to be on the money.

There’s no detail yet, of course, but Toyota adds the concept will boast a high-powered internal combustion engine and electric motors (note the plural) to offer more than 400hp (298kw).

We’ve got Toyota’s unedited teaser image for you after the break, along with a couple of pics to the Yaris Hybrid production model.

We think the Hybrid-R thingy is kind of cool. A 400hp Yaris! It’s certainly much easier to hold some faith and belief in this model than the Toyota-based Aston Martin Cynical. Let’s hope the Hybrid-R makes the transition from concept to reality.

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Accessories & Tech Toyota Video

If you had to drive a Prius you’d be hacked off too

Toyota Prius

This story is more than a little disturbing. You think of big multi-national banks getting hacked. You think of your computer picking up a dodgy virus. But how many of us have ever thought about our cars being hacked?

Andy Greenberg from Forbes recently met up with a couple of geeks to show us what it’s like to drive a car that wasn’t really in his command:

As I drove their vehicles for more than an hour, Miller and Valasek showed that they’ve reverse-engineered enough of the software of the Escape and the Toyota Prius (both the 2010 model) to demonstrate a range of nasty surprises: everything from annoyances like uncontrollably blasting the horn to serious hazards like slamming on the Prius’ brakes at high speeds. They sent commands from their laptops that killed power steering, spoofed the GPS and made pathological liars out of speedometers and odometers. Finally they directed me out to a country road, where Valasek showed that he could violently jerk the Prius’ steering at any speed, threatening to send us into a cornfield or a head-on collision.

The only saving grace, at this stage, is the hackers have to be in the car with you, with a cable connected to the car’s main ECU in order to get that level of control. However, in a test done back in 2010 remote access was gained to an unnamed make of car through its cellular connection and Bluetooth function. Scary, hey!

It was also interesting to read that Toyota already tests their cars to ensure they’re not vulnerable to a wireless attack. Maybe they, and all manufacturers, might need to up the ante?

[Source: Forbes | Thanks to Aaron for the tip]

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2013 Goodwood FoS in pictures – gallery 2

2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed

This is your second fix of images from the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed. We start with McLaren and take you all the way to Vuhl, plus a few bonus pics at the end.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s final gallery which is a dedicated set of Porsche images.

See also: 2013 Goodwood FoS in pictures – gallery 1

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Audi Toyota WEC

Audi wins 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans

Audi R18 etron, 24 Hours of Le Mans 2013

In a drama filled race Audi stood atop the podium for the twelfth time after winning the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans on the weekend. The #2 R18 e-tron quattro (Loïc Duval, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish) completed 348 laps, one more than the #8 Toyota TS030 Hybrid (Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin), with the #3 Audi (Lucas di Grassi, Marc Gené, Oliver Jarvis) claiming third place, just under two minutes behind the Toyota.

Of course, the 81st running of the classic endurance race will be remembered for the sad passing of Danish driver Allan Simonsen, who was killed after crashing his Aston Martin V8 Vantage on the fourth lap of the race.

Throughout the whole race inclement weather and accidents ensured the field spent more time behind the Safety Car than organisers and fans would like. Indeed, a record amount of time was spent under full course yellows—11 periods adding up to more than five hours.

Toyota put up a strong fight and had enviable reliability. While the winning #2 Audi ran faultlessly, too, concerns were raised in the Audi garage after the pole sitting #1 R18 suffered alternator problems and lost several laps while it was repaired. Around the same time the #3 car picked up a puncture following minor contact with a slower car. Unfortunately Oliver Jarvis, who was driving at the time, had to travel almost an entire lap on the damaged tyre and the lost time added up to a two-lap deficit.

Up to that point the three Audis were jostling for positions on the podium. The #1 R18 was never able to rejoin the fight for victory and finished fifth, 10 laps down. The #3 Audi fought back well from its earlier problems to put pressure on the #7 Toyota, which succumbed when Nicolas Lapierre slid off the track in slippery conditions with an hour to go.

A special note of acknowledgement for Tom Kristensen as well, who notched up a record ninth Le Mans victory. It was the third win for Allan McNish and the first for Loïc Duval.

The LMP2 category was won by the #35 Oak Racing Morgan-Nissan. While Porsche took out both the GTE Pro and Am classes. The factory-backed Manthey team 991 911 RSRs finished first and second in GTE Pro, with the customer IMSA Performance Matmut team winning the GTE Am category.

So, we move on to 2014, hopefully learning from the death of Allan Simonsen, where the closeness of the barrier to a large tree may have contributed to his death. And we look forward to increased competition for Audi when Toyota will be joined by Porsche in the chase for LMP1 glory.

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Audi Motorsports Toyota

Audi displays strength ahead of Le Mans

2013 6 Hours of Spa

Audi claimed a formation 1-2-3 finish at the 6 Hours of Spa on the weekend, in the last WEC race before the 24 Hours of Le Mans (22–23 June). However, the dominant result doesn’t give us the whole picture.

While the Audis appear to have greater one-lap pace, in race trim the updated 2013-spec #7 Toyota TS030 showed its hand by capitalising on a puncture to the #1 Audi to lead the race for quite some time. Unfortunately for Toyota the car was forced to retire in the fourth hour due to a failure with the energy recovery system, resulting in overheating brakes. The 2012-spec #8 TS030 finished fourth behind the three Audis.

It was the #1 R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Treluyer which took the chequered flag with a lead of more than one minute over the #2 car. The #3 R18 with the ‘long-tail’ body finished third in its first competitive outing.

Full race reports from Audi and Toyota can be viewed after the break.

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Formula 1 Lexus Toyota

Toyota back in F1 by 2015 using Lexus name?

Jarno Trulli at the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix

Toyota will re-enter Formula 1 in 2015 under the banner of its premium brand Lexus, according to a report on the unofficial Club Lexus website.

The Japanese giant left F1 at the end of the 2009 season amid concerns over the global financial crisis and poor on-track results. However, the introduction of new engine rules in 2014, coupled with a greater reliance on KERS technology, has been enough to lure Toyota back it would seem.

Lexus has proved with its LFA supercar that it can mix it with the best performance cars the planet has to offer. Add to that the numerous hybrid models offered for sale by both Toyota and Lexus you can see why Toyota might want back into F1 using its Lexus badge.

Having Lexus in F1 would also help to counter the increasing profile of competitor Infiniti (née Nissan) following its title partnership deal with Red Bull Racing.

As it stands this story remains a rumour, but Club Lexus states the deal has been discussed at the highest levels of Toyota management and describes entry of Lexus to F1 as “all but finalized”.

[Source: Club Lexus]

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2013 Geneva Motor Show in pictures – part 2

2013 Geneva Motor Show

You can have your fancy pants limited-edition Lambo, or your stonking new LaFerrari, even the McLaren P1; we’re not really interested. The car of Geneva, for us, is the Porsche 911 GT3. That’s the one we’d like to take home and get intimate with. And so begins the second and final part of our Geneva Motor Show image gallery. There’s over 120 new  images to see and enjoy.

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Motor Shows Toyota

Geneva 2013: Toyota FT-86 Open Concept

Toyota FT-86 Open Concept

Chances are you may have already seen the topless Toyota 86, but if not here it is. At this stage the 86 convertible is being referred to as a concept model, but production prototypes are undergoing testing as we speak. Apart from that Toyota hasn’t really said much else about its chopped 86 other than it has a pretty white interior to match its white paint scheme.

Overall, if you’re a fan of convertibles, we reckon you’ll probably like this FT-86 Open Concept, it looks quite smart. As is often the case though, there may be a reason we’ve not been presented with any photos of the electrically controlled roof in the closed position.

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Toyota

Toyota GT86 convertible spied in South Africa

Toyota GT86 convertible spied in South Africa

We knew it was coming, but this is one of the first images we’ve seen showing the topless Toyota 86. And given we saw the pic posted to the Toyota UK blog we reckon that’s a pretty good unofficial endorsement that this car will be on display at the Geneva Motor Show next month.

It’s probably also safe to expect the 86’s Toybaru twin the Subaru BRZ will also drop its top when the time is right.

[Source: carmag.co.za via Toyota Blog]

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New vehicle sales report – December 2012

FCAI banner

A round of applause for Australia’s car buying public who achieved an all-time record of 1,112,032 sales in 2012. It’s only the fifth time Australians have bought more than 1 million cars in a calendar year. Last year’s results represent an overall increase of 10.3% (103,595 sales) compared with 2011.

FCAI Chief Executive, Tony Weber, explained demand for a wider range of vehicles helped to fuel the record result. “Reduced tariffs as well as changing consumer preferences have contributed to making the dynamic and innovative automotive industry that we have today,” he said.

“The 2012 sales result bears that out. Customer demand has been high and the industry has responded with a wide range of vehicles powered by a range of different fuels.”

When you read the material after the break it seems that almost everyone’s a winner except Holden and Ford. The General returned a 9.1% drop in sales compared with 2011, but managed to hold its position as the country’s second-best seller. Although, Mazda is snapping at its heels. Meanwhile, Ford held station, to a degree, returning a 0.9% drop in sales against 2011.

However, when you consider market-leader Toyota increased its annual sales by 20.1%—coupled with strong improvements from other top 10 selling brands like Honda (+18.9%), Mazda (+17.6%), Nissan (+17.4%), Subaru (+18.2%) and Volkswagen (22.6%)—we can’t imagine there’s too many smiles in the boardrooms at Fisherman’s Bend and Broadmeadows.

Individually, the Mazda3 managed to top the charts for 2012, notching up 44,128 sales. Close behind were Toyota’s HiLux (40,646) and Corolla (38,799).

It used to be that one in every four cars sold in Australia was either a Commodore or a Falcon. Not anymore. The Commodore was the fourth-best selling model (30,532 sales), while the Falcon didn’t even make it into the top 10.

Despite 2012’s record result Tony Weber expects a small drop in annual sales for 2013. “During this election year, and with production now having caught up with back orders, FCAI forecasts a national automotive market of 1,075,000 for 2013,” he said.

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News Subaru Toyota

Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 named Wheels COTY

Subaru BRZ

The Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 twins have been awarded the Wheels Car of the Year award. It joins a host of other awards collected by the Toybaru, including the Carsguide top honour.

Wheels editor Stephen Corby acknowledged the success of the Subaru–Toyota partnership, “Seldom do joint projects produce something remarkable like this.”

The magazine went on to describe some of the key attributes for the winning pair: “Never before has pure driving pleasure been so accessible. Affordable, remarkably rewarding to drive, efficient and safe, the collaboration between Toyota and Subaru left the competition behind and drove—with just a dab of oppo—onto the Wheels COTY podium.”

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New vehicle sales report – November 2012

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Well done Australia, for the first time on record you’ve bought more than 1 million new vehicles before the end of November. The year-to-date figure at the end of last month was 1,016,605, a 10.9% increase compared with the same time frame last year.

As always, string demand for SUVs in the private sector has fuelled the growth, but so too has a resurgence in sales of passenger vehicles.

Meanwhile, Government fleet sales have dropped off by a total of 35.1% compared with November 2011 and by almost 21% since the start of the year.

The top three selling brands in November were Toyota (19,312), Holden (10,354) and Mazda (8,732). While the three best selling models were the Toyota Corolla (4,190), the Mazda3 (3,703) and the Toyota HiLux (3,059).

Congratulations to Mazda, too, who has recorded its best ever annual sales results, with a month still remaining in the year.

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