Toyota FT-HS Concept

Toyota FT-HS Concept: the lowdown

Salvation for supercar lovers in the 21st century: Toyota has turned its hand to creating a sports coupe with green credentials - and the futuristic FT-HS Concept mixes green with mean rather well, we think. Don't believe us? Well, how about 0-60mph in four seconds and 400bhp from a 3.5-litre V6 hybrid drivetrain - in a car that runs silently on electric power through town, with nothing more troubling than an electric whirr from the quad tailpipes.

It looks quite odd. What have they done with the styling?

This concept heralds two new design themes: J-Factor and Vibrant Clarity. Apparently, these are a celebration of Japanese design, and the car does have some unusually sharp surface treatments; the nose is dominated by a butch snow-plough spoiler, while the rear is deeply scalloped. From the front, the 'floating' C-pillar wraps over the rear haunches, while the roof bulges to provide more headroom where needed. There's even a folding hard top, turning the FT-HS into a cabrio at the touch of a button. The 3.5-litre V6 hybrid petrol-electric drivetrain might sound familiar from the Lexus RX400h and GS450h, but this time it's been tuned for 400bhp. No economy claims have been published ahead of its debut at next week's Detroit Motor Show, but Toyota claims 'ultra-low emissions and fuel efficiency'.

What's the FT-HS like inside?

This concept car has a 2+2 layout, with small rear seats for occasional use. The cabin has a lean, skeletal look and the engineers have tried to leave much of the car's architecture exposed. Has any concept car of recent years not lavished its drivers with a periodic table's worth of exotic materials? The FT-HS is trimmed with carbonfibre and cool-touch titanium, while the steering has an unusual mono-spoke wheel.

So will they build it?

There is one big stumbling block to building a hybrid supercar: weight. All those batteries and hybrid power packs weigh a lot. The petrol-electric GS is a podgy 245kg more than its petrol counterpart, for instance. Finding a way to make a hybrid coupe handle like a sports car ain't easy. However, if anyone has the engineering nous - not to mention deep pockets required - to make this happen, it's Toyota. Nobody will make an on-the-record promise, but word is that the company is working flat out to be first with a hybrid sports car. It's the best pointer yet to the new Supra for the 21st century.

Toyota Hybrid X unveiled

Toyota Hybrid X: that's an odd name...

Apparently, the Hybrid X was named after its unconventional U-shaped front and rear windscreen pillars. Seen in plan view from above, they nearly meet in the middle to assume the shape of an X. It's pure concept fantasy, although we can't help noticing that it's the same size as today's Prius, which has been on sale since 2003. A new Prius isn't due until 2009, and it could pick up a couple of style tips from this 4500mm-long show car. Toyota freely admits the Hybrid X forges new design cues for hybrids, but insists this particular car is not the new Prius.

So it could point to the next Prius. Has it got intergalactic technology on board?

Strangely, no. Toyota said it had the latest Hybrid Synergy Drive petrol-electric system, but issued no further technical details. This isn't that sort of working concept car, apparently. What it is, is a flight of fancy from the designers at the ED2 studio in southern France. It's another model mixing synaesthesia with outright madness - you can tweak the interior for every bodily sense, changing the smell, light, touch and sound to match your mood. It sounds strange, but you can order sprightly smells to wake you up on the morning commute.

That huge glasshouse must make it pretty airy inside?

It certainly does; the Hybrid X is one of the most goldfish bowl-like concepts we've seen for a while from Toyota. Rear suicide doors make access and exit easier, too. And look at those skinny seats, whose injected foam construction lets them be much smaller. The rear two can swivel by 12 degrees, making it easier to have a chat with your neighbour, or snub them after a family argument.

Is Toyota still market leader in hybrids?

The Japanese brand has sold 50,000 hybrids in Europe, and 650,000 Prius models worldwide since 1997. It is confident that it will be flogging more than a million a year by the start of the next decade. To emphasise that hybrids aren't just about saving fuel, Toyota also showed the sleek white FT-HS sports car concept from Detroit. Word is that it's still destined for production eventually. We can't wait - it looks exactly like a modern, 21st-century Supra should.

Toyota's hybrid sales top one million

Toyota, and its luxury arm Lexus, have notched up more than a million hybrid sales for the first time.

First launched in Japan in 1997, the Prius has racked-up 758,000 sales internationally, 13,826 of them in the UK. And a third of the 1,047,000 hybrids built by Toyota found homes in its domestic Japanese market. The company claims its hybrids have saved around 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 compared with petrol and diesel equivalents over the past decade. And this is just the start of it. Toyota forecasts sales of a million hybrids a year by the start of the next decade. It could make our roads a whole lot quieter... See the July 2007 issue of CAR Magazine for the unsung green heroes that can humble a hybrid

Toyota Verso

A new Toyota Verso? It looks just like the old one!

Yes, it does. Honestly, the lengths manufacturers go to persuade us - and you - that a facelift is important! All-new! Ground-breaking! Nope, the Verso's latest revisions bring none of those things. They do bring more angular front and rear light clusters, plus a revised nose with a tweaked grille and chunkier front bumper. Blink and you'll miss 'em, but the new styling cues echo Toyota's latest design look espoused by Yaris and Auris. There’s nothing new on the mechanical front, but there is a new mid-range SR model with some extra treats.

A sporty Verso SR? That sounds like a contradiction in terms!

No, no, no - the SR isn't a sporty trim, it's Toyota’s wallet-friendly addition to the Verso range. It gets all the goodies from the T3 model, and adds tinted rear windows, a roof spoiler, rear parking sensors and 16-inch alloys - despite costing less than the T3 models upon which they're based. Tweaks elsewhere include top-spec T-Spirit and T180 models gaining the option of sat-nav and Bluetooth, whilst the entry-level T2 model gets an uprated sound system. Mid-range T3 models get dual-zone climate control and numerous flashy interior details. A very Toyota facelift, then: sensible, wallet-appealing tweaks, but little to excite anyone remotely interested in driving. But the Verso remains a clever compact MPV, with five very-easy-to-fold rear seats. Even if it is a tad dull...