Lexus IS-F concepts and CT 200h F Sport at 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon

Lexus presented the CT 200h F Sport at 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon, as well as a couple of IS-F concepts. The first one is the IS-F Club Performance Accessory built by TRD. The parts fitted to this car could hit the market very soon and give a new breath of life to the TRD brand. The second concept, called IS-F CCS-R (Circuit Club Sports-Racer), is a lightweight track-going concept.

More photos after the jump!

Toyota's other concepts and production models presented at 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon

Toyota, except from the GRMN iQ Racing Concept, the Prius G's Concept and the Vitz G's Concept, has a number of other concepts and production models on display at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Toyota Prius and Vitz G's concepts presented at 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon

Toyota GRMN iQ Racing Concept presented at 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon

The 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon has opened today and Toyota, along with Gazoo Racing, presented a number of interesting concepts. The first one is the GRMN iQ Racing Concept tuned by MN. Power output has been increased with the use of a supercharger.

More photos after the jump!

Subaru to showcase FR sports car technology concept (FT-86) at Geneva Motor Show!!!

Subaru has just announced what it will exhibit at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, opening on May 1. The Impreza concept presented at LA will be unveiled, along with the new Subaru Trezia, Toyota's Verso-S (aka Ractis) brother. The new Trezia will be available with a 1.3 L petrol egnine, as well as a 1.4 L turbo diesel one.

However, since the launch of the production FT-86 is not very far away, Subaru will present a rear-wheel drive sports car technology concept! According to Subaru, the concept will show how Subaru  proposes to integrate its expertise into a rear-wheel drive car to offer a new and highly enjoyable, Subaru-like driving experience. The technology concept will demonstrate how the all-new car platform  makes full use of Subaru’s engineering and Boxer technology.

Daihatsu to pull out of Europe?

I just read that Daihatsu may pull out of Europe by the end of January 2013. The article mentions that there will be support and after that date, including warranty claims and spare parts. Of course there is no confirmation about it from Daihatsu and I am a bit reluctant to believe it, but where there is smoke...

[Source: Autohaus.de]

Current-gen Impreza to be short-lived - new model comes in Nov 2011

Following the post showing a rendering of the next-gen Subaru Impreza by Mag-X, now it's time for another picture with some more info. The current model, although it was launched just in 2007, is going to be replaced soon (do you wonder why...?). The typical life cycle for Impreza used to be 7-8 years. A full model change is sceduled in November 2011 and a new generation of boxer engines (FB20) will be fitted, which will be more fuel efficient. Of course, the styling of the new model will be inspired by the concept already presented at LA.

[Source: Mag-X via CarSensor]

The last scale model is...

The initial order included an Arta HSV-010 SGT500 2010 SUZUKA 700km Winter model, but that was before the end of the 2010 Super GT championship. As you will know though, the Weider HSV-010 won the GT500 title and therefore, I swapped the Arta model for the Weider one. As a model of the winning car, it's special since it comes with the signatures of both drivers!

More photos after the jump!

Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R32 & R33) scale models added to my GT-R collection!!!

OK, I admit it... I really do like GT-Rs and those two are now part of my mighty GT-R collection! The first one is a BNR32 V-Spec 2 model by Kyosho with an opening bonnet (!!!), while the second one is an R33 V-Spec 1996 model by Ebbro.

More photos after the jump!

Mazda RX-7 (SA22C, FC3S & FD3S) scale models arrived!

Next are the Mazda RX-7 models, including the Savanna RX-7 (SA22C) Limited 1979, the Savanna RX-7 (FC3S) Infini (earlier post) and the RX-7 (FD3S) Type R Bathurst X 1995  (earlier post) models. All of them are made by Kyosho and to be honest, I believe Ebbro is slightly better in terms of detail. However, the Kyosho 1/43 scale models with opening parts are very impressive...

More photos after the jump!

Toyota 2000GT & Celica XX MA63 scale models arrived!!!

It has been quite some time since I order those models and now they finally arrived! Since eight models arrived in total, there will be a few posts containing photos of the actual models. So, here we go... first are the Toyota ones!

The first one is a 2000GT Prototype by Ebbro (earlier post) and the second one is a Celica XX (aka Supra) MA63 2000 G-turbo model by Dism (earlier post). The later one can also take a couple of batteries and have the lights on!!!

More photos after the jump!

New Civic Hybrid to be lighter with improved electric drive range

Following the reveal of the Civic concepts at Detroit, which are basically what will be sold in the States in the spring, we are now waiting for more info to come up regarding the JDM and EUDM versions.

The hybrid version of the new Civic will be equipped with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery. Li-Ion batteries are the next step in terms of battery technology and the Civic Hybrid will be the first Honda to come with one. The battery will be provided by Blue Energy, a joint venture of Honda and GS Yuasa, and according to Tech-On!, production has already started.

The IMA system will be the same as the one used at the moment across the Honda lineup, and the capacity of the battery has not been disclosed yet. However, Honda claims that the new Civic will have improved electric drive range and with the new battery, it is possible to more efficiently harvest electricity by using regenerative braking. As for the self-developed motor, its output is apparently higher than that of the motor used for the Insight and the Fit (10 kW).

The new Civic is going to be lighter than its predecessor, and a larger amount of high-tensile steel will be used.

Honda to make insulated toolkit available for EV maintenance

Honda has already announced that it will start lease sales of the EV-neo electric scooter in a few months (earlier post). Therefore, it prepares an insulated maintenance toolkit, which will be distributed to the dealers in order to carry out maintenance tasks on the EV-neo. This will ensure the safety when performing various tasks. Also, special training of the dealers will be done in order stuff to learn the basics of low voltage electric handling.

The insulated toolkit, has the surface of the metal parts covered with a film coating that doesn't allow electric charge to move, thus preventing a potential shock. Of course, the same type of measures will be taken once EV cars come out.

Honda at 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon

The 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon opens in a couple of days, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, and Honda just announced that Honda Access will display a TS-1X test study model based on the CR-Z.

Also on display are accessorized production cars and motorcycles, along with a variety of specially designed vehicles to show the playful nature of customization, such as the Freed Spike caravan car, the Acty Truck and the Enepo generator special coloring editions.

Oh, the HSV-010 GT machine, which won both the driver and team titles for the Super GT Series GT500-class races, will be there as well!

Lexus launches CT 200h in Japan

Lexus announced today the launch of the CT 200h in Japan, with a sales target of 1,500 units per month. Three versions will be available, the version L costing 4,300,000 ¥, the F Sport costing 4,050,000 ¥ and version C costing 3,750,000 ¥. The CT 200h is manufactured at the Miyata plant.