Motoring corner With Carlover

As some would love to say, this is Toyota land! Much as the Mercedes Benz and Ford make so many fancy and concept vehicles, those could be more of a dream to many of us in Africa. For many reasons, we understand Toyota most. We all dream, but one must wake up for a dream to become true! Toyota has big plans for the Frankfurt Auto Show. Not only are they showing a new Avensis and the Plug-in Prius, theyre also bringing the FT-86 II concept to the show. Again, this is all getting more and more interesting. The newest FT-86 II concept gets a set of Brembo brakes and a bright burnt orange paint job. Toyota and Subaru will both be releasing production models based on the cars rear-wheel-drive architecture. The sport coupe will have a 2.0-liter direct-injected boxer engine and a choice of six-speed automatic or manual gearbox. Toyota took the wraps off another concept rendition of its Toyota FT-86 II at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, albeit with only a couple changes since the last show in Geneva and New York. This time it rocks a burnt orange paint job and a set of Brembo brakes. The car now features three colours since its first unveiling — black, red and now burnt orange. The latest iteration is the first time a large set of Brembo brakes have been seen hiding behind its shiny alloy wheels. The car is expected to hit the market in 2012 as a Scion, and its Subaru stable-mate, the BRZ, will follow in the spring of 2012. The cars will be equipped with a direct-injection 2.0-liter boxer engine outputting around 200 horsepower and a six-speed manual or auto transmission. The FT-86/FR-S is being built in partnership with Subaru, hence the nickname Toyobaru, and is said to be inspired by the AE86 generation of the Toyota Corolla. We are still waiting on a final production version of the FT-86, which is anticipated at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show in December. Its about time Toyota and Subaru forgot the concepts and showed us what they have in store for the production versions of this sexy sport coupe. This is Toyota’s new thing, not a giant steel piece but Toyota’s new thing, based on the FT-86 II concept as it showed in Geneva, is having multiple versions and skins of a concept car before finally unveiling the production model. This was first with the Lexus LFA, which went through at least three concept permutations before seeing production in a form that was a dead ringer for the first. Like the LFA, the first version of the FT-86 concept was a bit bland. The most interesting thing about it—aesthetically speaking, anyway—was the colour, which a Japanese engineer said was the “traditional red colour of a Japanese monkey’s backside.” (You should see the things those mod monkeys are doing with their backside colours. The paint on this second iteration of the FT-86 concept must have been inspired by a Goth Japanese monkey. But there’s a lot more to the evolution of the concept’s styling than just the colour. Like the second LFA, this FT-86 gets more billows to its shape, with flowing, organic flares swelling around the wheels, a more sculpted hood, and a far more intricately designed backside, this one featuring white taillights. Up front, the FT-86 II has a more menacing maw than that of the first car. A huge, oval grille stretches nearly to the ground and is flanked by LED running lights. The narrow, squinty headlights remain, although they flow into fenders more peaked than the originals. The aggressive look continues around back, with numerous vents and a diffuser adding a track-ready appearance. Aside from the updated shape of concept 2.0, Toyota didn’t have much to share on the car. The concept is 166.7 inches long—with a 101.2-inch wheelbase—70.7 inches wide, and 50 inches tall. That’s within two inches of the Nissan 370Z in those dimensions, although the Toyota’s naturally aspirated 2.0-liter Subaru flat-four will trail the Z’s 332 horsepower by about, oh, 130 or so. (For those that hated math class that means this car should get about 200 hp.) That said, this car is likely going to be much cheaper than the Z. Based on what weve learned about the Subaru version of this car, the suspension should consist of struts up front and multiple links out back, there will be a 2+2 seating layout, and the curb weight should come in around 2800 pounds. A turbocharged version, at least according to Subie, is always possible. motoringcorner@live.co.uk

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Motoring corner With Carlover