The lights for the Detroit Auto Show haven’t even dimmed and already Honda is announcing its lineup of vehicles for the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon starting Friday, January 14th to Sunday, January 16th, 2011. So far we gather that the line-up will include both automobiles and motorcycles, with the most impressive model being the TS-1X test study based on the CR-Z.
No details have been revealed on any of the models scheduled for Tokyo yet, but this image released by Honda reveals a matte black exterior paint with a revised front fascia, extended side skirts, and a massive rear spoiler for the TS-1X. Not bad for a test study, eh?
Also headed to Japan for the Tokyo Auto Show are accessorized production automobiles and motorcycles, along with a variety of specially designed vehicles. These vehicles include the Freed Spike caravan car, the Acty Truck and the Enepo generator special coloring editions, and the HSV-010 GT machine. On the motorcycle front, the most impressive appearance will be made by the RC212V, which competed in the MotoGP class races.
Over here in the good ol’ US of A, people are gearing up for one of the biggest auto shows of the year, the Detroit Auto Show, but spin the globe around and we’ll see that there is another show that deserves a good amount of attention as well. Over in Japan, the Tokyo Auto Salon will begin in less than a month to bring us some of the hottest tuned up machines we’ve seen, and the star of the show will obviously be the new Nissan GT-R.
Bringing the sports car to the forefront of the crowd is Axell Auto, a tuner who, until now, specializes in tuning Toyota van models. How they switched from vans to a beautiful sports car is beyond us, but we’ll take it anyway.
What they have done is prepared an extreme widebody kit for the new GT-R sports coupe. This kit will include new body panels, wider fenders, matching widebody Rear quarter panel fenders, a new rear bumper with a lot of vents and, of course, a new set of wheels. Currently the car is still under development, but these first couple of sketches leave us waiting in anticipation for the car’s Tokyo debut.
No engine updates have been announced as of yet, but maybe the tuner is waiting for the Tokyo Auto Show on January 14th to unleash that announcement. We can only hope.
The speculation is over, the Japanese automaker Toyota has finally shown the world the highly anticipated successor to the original AE86 "Hachi Roku" with the FT-86 Concept. The old Toyota Corolla was celebrated for its lightweight fun to drive layout. The new project has previously been referred to as a Toyobaru because the affordable sports car was developed in collaboration with Subaru and is scheduled to make its world debut in just a few weeks at the Tokyo Motor Show. We are happy to report that even though this is just the concept, the production model will look a lot like it, with the only revisions being done to the cars interior. However we won’t know for sure until the end of 2011.
The Flash Red FT-86 Concept is inspired by the Corolla based AE86 sports coupe from the 1980s, and carries a very strong resemblance to the FT-HS Concept that was revealed back in 2007 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The FT-86 is a compact, rear wheel drive sports concept powered by a 2.0 Liter horizontally opposed, naturally aspirated four cylinder gasoline burning engine supplied by Subaru. In its non boosted form, the flat four make a maximum output of 150 HP, but the automaker is toying around with the idea of a more powerful super charged version depending on consumer demands, but for now we will have to settle for a simple boxer engine connected to a 6 speed manual transmission and equipped with ADVICS brakes.
When designing the FT-86 Concept Toyota’s engineers wanted to give the car a very low center of gravity for improved handling and efficient aerodynamics so that it can cut through the air with ease. So the four passenger FT-86 ended up being 4,160 mm long, 1,760 mm wide and 1,260 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,570 mm. Toyota’s design team has also included quite a few sporting touches to the concept’s interior; starting off with a flat bottom steering wheel, aluminum pedals and red stitching to accent the leather wrapped steering wheel and parking brake lever. The grey instrument panel is seamlessly molded into the darker dash and from the looks of things, is ready to hit Fuji Speedway.
Updated 05/03/2010: Toyota revealed new images of the FT-86 (Future Toyota-86) during the concept’s European debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Check the gallery to see them all!
To see what the Hachi Roku is all about, check out the video and Press Release after the jump.
The Japanese automaker Honda is gearing up for the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon later this week where they will unveil the Insight Sports Modulo Concept. Following the trend of sporty and practical factory tuned models, the Sport Modulo modified Insight is the world’s largest engine builder’s way of saying that even hybrid models can be fun. As it comes from the factory, the Honda hybrid comes with excellent aerodynamic numbers, a comfortable passenger compartment and a fun chassis all a reasonable price, this Sports Modulo Concept expresses the joy of driving through an “Exciting Eco” theme. The automotive re stylists have enhanced the Insight’s appearance with a new ground effects package made up of chiseled lines and larger air dams. With the Sports Modulo concept vehicle, Honda hopes to demonstrate what their in house customization program has to offer the next generation hybrid buyer.
The Japanese automaker Nissan has developed a new version of the GT-R sports car that takes full advantage of their in house motor sports division to create a special edition model for those who really wish to get the most out their day at the track with everybody’s favorite super car. The Nissan GT-R equipped with a Nismo Club Sports package will be unveiled at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon from January 15th thru the 17th. The Club Sports Package from Nissan Motor sports combines the already outstanding Nissan GT-R with a recently developed NISMO Data Logger Kit. This allows owners to download driving data via USB memory stick in order to review the information on their home computer. Thanks to the new data logger kit, Nismo is allowing GT-R owners to relive the exhilarating experience that comes with bringing Godzilla to the track and then extract everything last detail about throttle input and cornering forces from their day at the circuit and then improve. The only thing that Nismo won’t provide is a race engineer to lay it all out for you.
With the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon fast approaching, automakers are beginning to loosen up about what they will be bringing to the show. Honda has just released a series of sketches about their future concept that will make its debut on January 15th with the help of the aftermarket modification specialists at Access Modulo.
The Tokyo Auto Salon lineup will include a concept called the Insight Sports Modulo, based on the efficient gas electric hybrid Honda that will incorporate the same subtle yet aggressive style that was inaugurated at last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon by the S2000. There will also be another Insight concept that has been personalized by Freed Graceful, this other concept will be oriented towards fashion savvy women with its unique purple exterior color scheme complimented by a white interior. Not to mention one fun little orange box car from Happy Life.
When it comes to the art of aftermarket styling, there are few tuning firms that can compete with Tommy Kaira. Especially when it comes to the Nissan GT-R, after all not many tuners can boast about building a $100,000 sports car based on the classic RB26 powered Skyline GT-R’s twin turbocharged straight six tuned to make around 550 HP, the ZZII. With the 2009 Auto Show circuit coming to a close, Tommy Kaira is already making plans for the 2010 Tokyo Motor Show with a heavily tuned Nissan GT-R. The package will focus on not only improving the vehicle’s visual appeal, but the super car’s aerodynamics as well.
At the moment all we may have are a few sketches, but you can easily tell that Tommy Kaira is planning on turning Godzilla into a real monster. The aero package looks like it will consist of deeper lip spoiler and LED driving lights incorporated into a carbon fiber front bumper. There will be even more of the lightweight black stuff used for the side skirts that lead into a baked over fender for the rear arches and a race car quality diffuser out back with a taller carbon fiber wing up top.
Stay tuned, we’ll get back with more details soon!
When Lexus unveiled their new super car, the LF-A, at the Tokyo Motor Show last week, it did so with a replica sitting a few meters away from the original super car. And while replicas have become a common sight in auto shows, this particular sculpture of the LF-A is worth mentioning because it was made completely from ice.
The you-have-to-see-to-believe sculpture was the handiwork of renowned Japanese architect Scu Fujimoto and was created out of transparent acrylic boards, which was then polished to give it that ‘cold and icy’ look.
If pictures of the car don’t do justice to the intricate details Fujimoto painstakingly went through to create this sculpture, then we don’t know what else to say. The similarities between the real LF-A and the sculpture is remarkably uncanny and what’s even more mind-boggling is the fact that the
LF-A’s interior – and all the details that come with it – was also created in the sculpture version, down to the smallest of details.
Take our word for it; ‘amazing’ is an understatement.
Mazda presented today at the Tokyo Motor Show the Kiyora - a concept car powered by the next-generation “Mazda SKY-G 1.3L” gasoline engine mated to a next-generation “Mazda SKY-Drive” transmission.
The car is also equipped with Mazda’s proprietary “i-stop” advanced idling stop system which eliminates wasted fuel consumption when the vehicle is momentarily stationary. As a result the concept has an incredible fuel consumption of 32km/L.
The Kiyora is larger than the Demio and features a a signature five-point grille with 3-dimensional elements over the entire body, 18-inch alloy wheels and extremely short overhangs.
Caterham Cars has been building ;lightweight sports cars based on th eclassic Lotus 7 model for many years now. Their latest creation, the CSR 300 has just made its world premiere at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. The CSR 300 is the latest evolution of the Seven design, which is equipped with the Ford Duratec 2.0 engine. The Road Sport 300 was released as its Japan premiere and it is the ideal lightweight sportscar for all conditions.
