Tokyo is as close as Toyota gets to having an auto show on its home turf. And like the Detroit Three do at the Motor City’s annual blowout, the Japanese company is set to debut a large batch of concept and production cars at this year’s Tokyo show. The production-ready versions of the rear-drive FT-86 sports car and the Prius C (called Aqua in Japan) will be on hand, as will three green concept cars with names made up of alphabet-soup acronyms: Fun-Vii (Fun Vehicle interactive internet), FCV-R (Fuel Cell Vehicle – Reality & Revolution), and FT-EV III (Future Toyota – Electric Vehicle III).
2012 Prius C
Thanks to a leaked Japanese-market brochure, we already know most of the upcoming Prius C’s specifics, but Toyota released a few official photos along with some new information on the eve of the car’s Tokyo debut. The company claims that the C will return more than 50 mpg in city driving, greater than any non-plug-in hybrid. The larger Prius is rated at 51 mpg in city driving, so we assume the C will beat that figure. Bluetooth connectivity, steering-wheel-mounted audio controls, and nine airbags will be standard on the U.S. model; Toyota’s new Entune infotainment system will be optional. The C is set to go on sale in Japan in late December 2011 before hitting other markets. Interestingly, those other markets won’t include Europe—we imagine the Continent’s cool attitude towards hybrids played a factor in Toyota’s decision.
2012 FT-86
Toyota didn’t give away any new information or release any photos of the upcoming FT-86 sports car (the FT-86 II concept is pictured above) that will be revealed in Tokyo. The FT-86 was co-developed by Toyota and Subaru, and Subie’s version, the BRZ, also will debut at the Tokyo show. We already know most of the FT-86’s mechanical details and we’ve seen what it will look like via a leaked brochure, but we expect to finally get the official run-down after its Tokyo premiere.
Fun-Vii Concept
To be honest, we’re not completely sure what the Fun-Vii concept is all about, or even what the acronym in its name means. According to Toyota, the “Fun Vehicle interactive internet” is the company’s “vision of a future where people, cars, and society are linked.” Sure. And no, we don’t know what is going on in the photo above. Guess we’ll have to wait until its reveal to see what this one’s all about.
FT-EV III Concept
As the FT-EV III’s name—“Future Toyota – Electric Vehicle III”—suggests, it is the third in a line of electric concept vehicles Toyota has developed to showcase a future short-range production EV. If you’re thinking it looks a lot like a Toyota/Scion iQ, that’s because it is an iQ, but electric. The original FT-EV was unabashedly an electric iQ, while the FT-EV II that followed a few months later was much more unique and was less iQ-like. (It wore bespoke styling and was significantly smaller than the iQ). Toyota says the FT-EV III’s lithium-ion battery is good for a 65-mile range on the optimistic Japanese JC08 testing cycle and that its EV technology will migrate to a production vehicle due sometime in 2012. We know that Scion will sell an electric iQ to fleets in 2012, so this could be a preview of that car.
FCV-R Concept
Like Honda, which has delivered a few copies of its FCX Clarity to real customers, Toyota is serious about fuel-cell vehicles. More than just a Prius with a Fu Manchu mustache, the FCV-R concept is another step toward the goal of putting such a car on the road by 2015. The fuel-cell stack, with a high-pressure hydrogen tank, has been improved to provide a cruising distance of about 435 miles.
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