Toyota made big news when it displayed several eye-catching cars in its booth at the Tokyo Auto Salon a couple weeks ago. These cars were like nothing Toyota has shown before, slick interpretations of future and existing models, which not only looked sporty but supposedly featured significant performance enhancements. These cars wore the G's logo with the words "Toyota G Sports" written underneath.
G's is a new brand from Toyota that will gradually roll out cars in mid-2010, specializing in complete conversions of Toyota's existing products. In a word, G's will be the company's in-house tuning division, providing Toyota fans sporty cars customized to their own tastes. What will separate G's from other OEM tuner divisions like AMG, BMW's M and even the Lexus F cars is the customization angle as customers will be able to choose their level of tweaks. The changes to the cars will be applied to the exterior, interior and to the mechanical components, most notably the suspension.
While Toyota now has Modelista, which tunes Toyota cars with subtle body kits and slight performance upgrades, and TRD that mainly supplies performance parts, G's will focus on high-end tuning for street use. Thus, the cars that G's will create will be more expensive that the cars Modelista currently produces.
G's already showed a taste of what it has in mind with the FT-86 presented inside the Toyota booth as the Tokyo Auto Salon. The car was aggressive, attractive and the final product will have significantly more performance than stock.
Joining the FT-86 was a Mark X and Prius, which also showcased G's creativity. Reports are that G's will work closely with both Modelista and TRD to make its cars, the former supplying body kits and design advice, the latter making purely mechanical contributions. The new division will also look to Gazoo Racing, known as Toyota's GT racing division, for assistance as well, especially in the testing department. Gazoo also had a number of noteworthy models at the Tokyo Auto Salon, evidence that Toyota seems deadly serious about turning its image around into one that's sporty and exciting. -- reporting by Mak Tokuyama in Japan
kingkhalas says:
12:22 PM, 01/29/10
Maybe this will light a fire under Honda's a$$.
throwback says:
12:36 PM, 01/29/10
Interesting. Don't you need some fun cars before you start tuning them? Although I can see the Prius fanboys "tuning" there Prius'.
hondacura4 says:
12:48 PM, 01/29/10
"Maybe this will light a fire under Honda's a$$"
Oh please please.....I'd even settle for a "lowly" JDM Civic Type R sedan!
mark19 says:
01:04 PM, 01/29/10
and they tried this with Scion, and that didn't really go anywhere, with many dealers claiming "voiding warranty" even though they were installing the Toyota Racing parts.. lol so really, scion under a new name, or really TRD under a new name. yawn.
redliner says:
01:28 PM, 01/29/10
If I hear that one more company is going to start their own high performance devision im going to SCREAM!
What's next? The Lincoln MKZ type R?
flicmod says:
01:34 PM, 01/29/10
Who cares what the name is? The news is that Toyota is progressing towards performance again.
Wait... what? 'Toyota' and 'performance' in the same sentence without being separated by the words 'is not'?!? Crazy...
Anyhow... if Toyota can get their dealers under control with the warranty thing, I don't think they'll have a problem convincing people to buy this stuff. The Camry SE is styled very nicely for what it is, and I'd imagine models like that would be even more popular if they had a wider performance catalog for them.
I second kingkhalas comment about it hopefully convincing Honda to bring back their traditional sport side as well. God willing...
carlisimo says:
02:23 PM, 01/29/10
Doesn't TRD serve that purpose?
Jaydubz says:
02:48 PM, 01/29/10
Well of course they are starting a performance division and bringing more light to the Ft-86 and the Hybrid Supra, WHY you ask? Because with a huge PR hit like the pedal assembly issue, top Toyota brass are trying to come up with new ways of attracting a new market and attempting to reimage themselves.
Just my .02, but it seems plausible.
bodyblue says:
03:21 PM, 01/29/10
I have the new ad slogan for the new division...
"OUR PEDAL IS TO THE FLOOR!" (and we wont let it up!)
OOOPS maybe that is the wrong one.
fuhteng says:
03:32 PM, 01/29/10
Fart-cans for everyone! Now it is mandatory. Sweet.
Yuck.
+1 bodyblue. Not exactly classy, but very effective.
siarizona says:
03:38 PM, 01/29/10
+1 on Honda needing more "fun" cars. Hyundai needs to get into the in-house performance tuning game, too.
ironmc01 says:
03:46 PM, 01/29/10
let's hope it doesn't have faulty pedals and have u travel 120 mph towards a crash course
tszk says:
04:42 PM, 01/29/10
i just hope all these makes it to north america... most good looking cars from toyota and other japanese car brands hav really good looking cars in japan that never made it to america...
fhwulala says:
04:57 PM, 01/29/10
All the Gs vehicle manufactured in North America will get the gas pedal from CTS.
Which will feature the "Throttle holding Assist"
08lr3 says:
05:19 PM, 01/29/10
this gives sudden acceleration a whole new meaning....restart production!!!!!
icecubefosho says:
05:26 PM, 01/29/10
What is the point of "TRD - Toyota Racing Development" now?
Even Nismo only really tunes select cars - Titan/Frontier/Z etc. "G" would have to do alot of work to make a Camry exciting.
colorado1974 says:
08:12 PM, 01/29/10
It will either light a fire under Honda's @$$ or the @$$ of the driver after the throttle stuck and ran away and hit a tree.
nicked says:
08:20 PM, 01/29/10
Very exciting!! Can't wait for next G Sport from Japan.
f1ndler says:
08:44 PM, 01/29/10
Good news, but why G? It's like G-unit - gay unit and now Toyota G sport - gay sport))
colorado1974 says:
08:54 PM, 01/29/10
It will either light a fire under Honda's @$$ or the @$$ of the driver after the throttle stuck and ran away and hit a tree.
colorado1974 says:
08:54 PM, 01/29/10
It will either light a fire under Honda's @$$ or the @$$ of the driver after the throttle stuck and ran away and hit a tree.
jmaroun says:
09:27 PM, 01/29/10
That's a good laugh. What G stand for? Giggles i bet....
G-division.. LOL HAHA ROFLOL
Toyota better off focusing on Corolla and Camry gas pedals.
charlesb says:
10:16 PM, 01/29/10
The Japanese attempts at creating performance divisions/brands are the antithesis of anything resembling an organic process. The should take a page from Subaru's STi book, create cars that can win races and then port that over to production cars. BMW created the Motorsports division around the M1. Mercedes basically bought their name by snapping up a reputable tuner. But Lexus's "F" and Toyota's "G" are nothing more than some corporate hacks "F"-ing "G"obbledygook pulled out of thin air.
colorado1974 says:
10:56 PM, 01/29/10
sorry for the multiple comments. I didn't mean to. the forum here works differently than the main pages. I didn't realize that it added downward, instead of upward as the others do.
eyyop1 says:
05:15 AM, 01/30/10
A performance division for the corolla, camry, prius, and yaris....I'll pass. Also, why wouldn't just use TRD?? Sounds a lot better than G.
kingfish4 says:
06:30 AM, 01/30/10
How about TURD for Toyota Underdeveloped Racing Division.
lucien4 says:
07:54 AM, 01/30/10
A bit backwards when you first create such a division before you even created sporty looking cars.
Show us a new Supra, MR2, Hybrid Coupe or FT-86/Celica first (sure hope we're not talking about a tuned vanilla Camry or the Prius).
Seems Toyota is doing a lot of effort trying to create a sporty image without producing anything sporty for the public (at least until next year).
iluvmysephia1 says:
08:47 AM, 01/30/10
I don't know, people, that FT-86 pictured there looks pretty good to me. It's interesting that the FE-86 sporty coupe under construction right now is being developed with Subaru. I think that car
will be a hit in the U.S. Word has it that Toyota will let Subaru sell it here, too. Humm....anything
different from Toyota than the stale Prius and boring looking Camry and Corolla has got to be a perk-the-eyes-and-ears up moment for many of us, eh?
svt_man says:
09:08 AM, 01/30/10
Toyota should probably fix their accelerators before creating a performance division. It's pretty important to slow down before a corner when you're wide open.
cr_driver says:
10:18 AM, 01/30/10
LOL!!!!!!!!!!
Jaydubz says:
11:31 AM, 01/30/10
@Charlesb
All the information surrounding this car indicates that is it the successor of the beloved Ae86 Corolla, it does have a very extensive racing history, unfortunately just not here in the states. Maybe G Performance will be a Japanese only item and Toyota will retain TRD for performance parts.
I do agree with you though, I would love to see the birth of a new racing series with the FT-86. With the exception of the new found x games and rally racing plus VW racing with the TDI cup, I feel that motorsports in the US have become boring and lifeless.
tszk says:
01:53 PM, 01/30/10
hahah... i just had an stupid idea, if u have a toyota that u hate and have that faulty throttle problem... just drive it fast into some idiot driver's rear, technically is not ur fault or is it? hahhaha
jfulton91 says:
09:54 PM, 01/30/10
G's? Really? I didn't know gatorade had a stake in toyota shares! lol
dino6 says:
02:16 AM, 01/31/10
Latest news in LA Times is that Toyota is blaming unintended acceleration problem on American gas pedal manufacturer CTS when all along the problem is tied to the electronic throttles made in Japan.
CTS is now saying it's not their fault. That's why it's so difficult to do cover ups, at some point someone is going to sing a different song from the song sheet.
Expecting something from Edmunds on this. Don't get scooped by non-auto journalists.
scottyscooter says:
04:09 AM, 02/ 1/10
It has been pointed out both in the article and in the comments, but Toyota already has a performance division called TRD. Why make up a new performance division? Seems like an odd strategy; Toyota should be doing what charlesb mentioned. You should use your performance division to win races and then use that race development to add performance to the street cars. In my opinion, that’s how a true performance version of a car comes about. Anything less is just a marketing ploy and the "G sports" brand wouldn't have any real credibility.
I think that auto racing is currently being viewed by the auto industry only as an advertising platform to market to consumers. Using your products to compete in auto racing is the best way to develop and improve the product, but most manufacturers are not focusing much attention on this opportunity, if any attention is given at all.
stingray454 says:
07:17 AM, 02/ 1/10
"G"??? Is that the best they could come up with? Did they pick G because it is one of the few letters in the alphabet that HASN'T been chosen for a performance line?
Let's see what they come up with. It's been a LONG time since Toyota and performance were two words that could be used together. I'm skeptical.
juliewatson says:
05:44 AM, 09/23/10
Toyota is known to be one of the best reputed brand all over the world. This toyota really looks stunning and comfortable. I am sure this car will really rock in market as it is made with full of new modern technology.
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