Apart from the FT-86 G Sports, the other interesting Toyota at the Tokyo Auto Salon is this Sports Hybrid Concept. This odd looking roadster is based on the rear-drive MR2 Spyder last sold in the U.S. in 2005.
The Sports Hybrid concept looks pretty worked over, though, because Toyota and Gazoo Racing have stuffed the company's 3.3-liter V6 up front (the production MR2 had 1.8-liter I4, you'll remember) along with an electric motor. The latter drives the front wheels, while the V6 motivates the rears through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Of course, the CVT has some kind of "manual" mode so that there can be paddle shifters -- we wonder if they're the same pieces from the MR2 SMT.
It sounds deliciously strange with one source claiming to have heard the hybrid MR2 develops about 392 horsepower and will go to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. That could be true, but we doubt the Sports Hybrid handles very well. It weighs well over 2,800 pounds. The production MR2 Spyder weighed all of 2,200.
Autocar via Automobile
inlinesix says:
01:21 PM, 01/15/10
latest gen MR2= IMO probably one of the ugliest cars (in stock form) on the road.
estreka says:
02:49 PM, 01/15/10
I really miss the MR2. Not the MR-S, but the MR2. The MR-S was awful.
huyracing says:
04:13 PM, 01/15/10
i loved the MR-S. i kept pushing for a 2ZZ engine but Toyota didn't want to do that. a shame because you'd essentially have a budget lotus elise. funny they put the 2ZZ in a corolla, but not this...
pretty wild concept though. ditch the Hybrid and give me a manual or at least something with real gears.
alman08 says:
10:05 AM, 01/16/10
loved my 93 MR2 Turbo. the only thing I dislike about the MR-S was the interior. the body kit on this MR-S made me wish they would sell it here in the states. I wonder if the interior has been redone.