If anyone can tear their eyes away from the new BRZ sports car for just a second, they could see that Subaru has also presented the fourth generation Impreza at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show. The new Impreza will be offered in two versions: the five-door known as the Impreza Sport and the four-door known as the Impreza G4. In Japan, the new car will go on sale on December 20, 2011.
This fourth generation all-new Impreza was developed under the concept of "Redefining Value, Redefining Class." This means that next to a new look, the Impreza will also offer superior reliability, handling, and safety features of the Subaru Symmetrical "All-Wheel Drive"system with the Horizontally-Opposed Boxer engine.
The new Impreza will be offered with a choice of 1.6 and 2.0 liter engines combined with a standard a paddle shifting 6-speed manual and new Auto Start Stop system. All of these new items have only one purpose: improving performance and reducing fuel consumption.
Hit the jump to read more about the fourth generation Impreza.
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In the middle of all the concept debuts and race prototypes being unveiled at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, one car that’s neither of those things is fetching some serious attention.
The car is a special one-off Audi A1 that’s inspired by the Japanese National Soccer Team. Affectionately called the A1 Samurai Blue, the one-off car has been dressed in the official colors - blue and white - of the Samurai Blue, the nickname given to the country’s soccer team. Complimenting the two-color exterior paint finish is a red color - the same hue as that of the Japanese flag - that was used on the rear spoiler and the set of 18" wheels provided. The exterior also sports the logo of the Blue Samurais on both sides of the car, as well as on the roof.
The interior equipment of the A1 Samurai Blue has been dressed in black with contrasting blue stitching. Colorful accents are also found on various parts of the interior, including the air vent nozzle, the inlays, the center console, and the floor mats.
Under its hood, no performance enhancements were done on the car so the A1 Samurai Blue is powered by a standard 1.4-liter TFSI engine that produces 122 horsepower. No surprise there.
The whole purpose of the A1 Samurai Blue is for Audi to sell the one-off model and have part of the profit donated to charity. So if you happen to have a heart of gold and fancy a one-off Audi A1 like this, you might need to get to stepping and be the lucky one to go home with this ultra exclusive piece of A1 eye candy.
German automaker, Volkswagen, is using the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show to unveil a pretty unique concept vehicle called the Cross Coupe.
We say unique because the Cross Coupe was designed with a bevy of new features, both characterized by a new design architecture and a new hybrid power train set-up. The latter of the two is an all-wheel drive hybrid drivetrain that features a turbocharged gas engine and a pair of electric motors that are found on both the front axle and the rear axle of the SUV.
As far as the design of the Cross Coupe is concerned, there are plenty of new languages that you can expect to see in a lot of Volkswagen’s future models, and not necessarily on a production version of this concept.
All told, the Volkswagen Cross Coupe Concept paints a real good pictureof the future of Volkswagen. It may not end up as a stand-alone production model, but as with most concepts go, it gives us a taste of what to expect from the German automaker moving forward.
Find out more about the Volkswagen Cross Coupe Concept after the jump.
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It’s not an understatement to say that the Toyota GT 86 is without question one of the most hotly anticipated models to come out of Toyota in quite some time. So when the car was officially revealed, we didn’t have to wait long to see a racing prototype come to life soon thereafter.
Turns out, Toyota Racing Development has developed not just one, but two prototypes based on the GT86: The N0 and the N1.
Official details behind the two models have yet to be revealed, but the Japanese website Response managed to take a few photos of the two cars as they were being prepared for the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. Compared to the 86 N0, the 86 N1 appears to be the more aggressively tuned of the two, as evidenced by the enormous carbon fiber rear wing the race car is sporting. The N1 also comes with the same logos and decals the N0 has, as well as special TRD badges found throughout the vehicle.
As far as engine enhancements are concerned, we’re pretty sure that TRD did something to both models to improve on their performance capabilities. Nothing has been announced yet, but we expect details to be revealed sooner rather than later.
Set among the many debuts Toyota has planned for the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show is the G’s Prius, a sportier and far more aggressive take on the Japanese automaker’s resident hybrid car.
Toyota has yet to reveal the full specs regarding the car, but it certainly looks like this model is an evolution of the Prius G Sports Concept that the company unveiled at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.
Of the details we do have of the G’s Prius, we can tell you that the model has a White Pearl Crystal Shine exterior finish with red and black decorated stripes running along both sides of the car. One thing we’re thankful of, as far as the G’s Prius is concerned, is that Toyota opted for a more traditional look as opposed to the oddly-designed, rear-tire covered Prius G Concept. The interior of the G’s Prius also got a few styling tweaks in the form of a revised steering wheel, Recaro sport seats dressed in black leather with matching red stitching, a new information display, and aluminum pedals.
Under its hood, the G’s Prius will come with the same power train as that of a standard Prius so expect a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine mated to an Electronic Continuously Variable transmission. This setup produces 99 horsepower and 105 lb/ft of torque matched to an electric motor that produces 82 horsepower.
The Tokyo Motor Show will be featuring an onslaught of concept cars coming from some of Japan’s biggest auto shows. The biggest of them all is Toyota, and they’ve finally revealed exactly what’s in store for us when the show opens at the end of November.
Once of the concepts that will be in attendance is the FCV-R (Fuel Cell Vehicle - Reality & Revolution). The FCV-R is a hydrogen-powered sedan-type concept that is being run on a promising source of CO2 emission-free energy that, according to Toyota, can be produced in a variety of ways using a number of sources and can be easily stored and transported.
The concept is being pegged as a future fuel cell model that the company is looking into bringing into production in a few year’s time. The overall set-up of the FCV-R Concept was designed with the aforementioned fuel-cell unit located just under the a specially designed bodyshell.
This unit carries a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank and has been improved to be able to produce a cruising distance of approximately 700 km, which is just under the Japanese JC08 test cycle.
More details behind the Toyota FCV-R will be made available when the Tokyo Motor Show opens on November 30.
Nissan is headed to the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show with the Juke Nismo - a concept car that offers a first glimpse of Nismo’s future. The vehicle that was designed to "inject some masculinity and dynamism into the small car market" is getting even more agile and aggressive with the addition of the kickass Nismo package.
The new Juke Nismo Concept will be distinguished by Nismo’s signature colors - pearl white with red highlights - and an extreme body kit that not only offers a sportier look but improves the car’s aerodynamics as well. The body kit includes revised bumpers in the front and rear, wider fenders, and sill side skirts. The grille pattern has also been changed and the tailgate spoiler has been modified with the addition of side elements to control airflow more efficiently. The concept will sit on a new set of 19-inch alloy wheels.
The interior has also been highly modified. Everything from the steering wheel, pedals, gauges, shifter knob, and door trims have been redesigned to provide greater involvement when driving. The sporty bucket seats are covered in leather and are highlighted by dials and needles illuminated in red.
"As the Concept shows, Nismo brings new levels of individuality to mainstream Nissan cars like Juke. The future for Nismo is to develop premium sports designs for an ever-widening range of customers," said Nismo President, Shoichi Miyatani.
Hit the jump for a video showing the new Juke Nismo Concept in all of its glory, as well as an explanation for the idea behind the concept.
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Toyota’s participation at the Tokyo Motor Show will feature three new concepts. One of these concepts is called the Diji Concept, a futuristic take on a vehicle that that represents the Japanese automaker’s vision of seeing a future where "people, cars, and society are all linked."
If those words were a little hard to imagine, the first official photos of the Diji Concept will pretty much tell you what the car is all about. While official details behind the Fun-Vii are still being kept under wraps, the company has stated that the concept will have one unique quirk: a body that can be used to display images on BOTH the exterior and the interior.
Try picturing this scenario: the exterior of the Diji Concept will be able to display messages, images, and what-nots while the interior of the vehicle will feature ambient lighting that can match the "mood of the moment."
Other features of the Diji Concept include a cabin that can accommodate up to three people, a navigation information system that blends with the interior, and a network update function that pretty much allows you to keep all your software systems up to date. The concept also has a "memory" of its own, one that can connect to other vehicles, as well as friends driving nearby.
Talking about a concept that’s built specifically for the future, the Toyota Diji Concept fits all that to a tee. It’s like an extremely smart computer on wheels.
Subaru is already offering lots of details on their next generation WRX STI sports car, but until 2013 when will actually see it, we can enjoy a few more goodies left in the company’s pocket. One of these goodies has been unveiled today: the ultimate S206 version of the Impreza WRX STI. The car will be revealed next week in Tokyo and is already in sale in Japan.
Subaru will also be offering a special NBR Challenge Package edition of the S206 that commemorates Subaru’s class win at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. There will be only 300 S206 units built, 100 of which are the NBR editions. The latest ones have been already sold out.
The new S206 has been described as Subaru’s crown of the STI tune cars. It offers advanced driving performance and exclusively-made items in both interior and exterior designs.
Hit the jump to read more about the new Subaru Impreza WRX STI S206.
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Volkswagen will be coming to the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show (December 3rd-11th) with a very interesting version of their successful Passat. The new model is called the Passat Alltrack and is supposed to close the gap between the conventional Passat Estate and SUVs such as the Tiguan. Sales of the new model will begin in early 2012.
But what makes this new Alltrack version different from the Estate version? Well, it comes equipped with new bumpers in an SUV style – with wheel well and side sill flares. The car also offers a greater off-road ramp angle, approach angle, departure angle, and higher ground clearance.
The engine line-up will include two turbocharged direct injection petrol engines (TSI) and two turbodiesels. The petrol engines will deliver up to 210 HP and the most powerful ones will be equipped with standard 4MOTION all-wheel drive and a dual clutch transmission (DSG). In the diesel version, this option will offer a low combined fuel consumption of 41 mpg in the 140 HP version and 40 mpg in the 170 HP version.
UPDATE 02/21/12: Volkswagen has officially released a comprehensive photo gallery of the Passat Alltrack. On top of the photos, the gallery also has a visual instructional guide detailing and describing all the cool features in the vehicle. Check it out!
