Well this certainly doesn’t look boring, this Toyota GR HV Sports Concept thing. It looks damn close to a Toyota 86, just with a different front, rear, interior, a hybrid powertrain and a freaky gearbox. I sort of love it.
It has a targa top, reminiscent of the Supra, and is powered by a hybrid system that’s taken cues from Toyota’s Gazoo Racing TS050 Hybrid WEC car. The front is dressed up with LED lights and there’s a cool diffuser in the back. Nowhere in Toyota’s release does it say that it’s based on the 86, but come on, look at it. The platforms are too similar for it to be anything else.
Here, Jason even overlaid the two for you:
It gets real weird inside. The car’s an automatic, but there’s also an H-pattern shifter, like you’d find in any manual transmission car. You can shift gears once you put it into manual mode without needing a clutch. Kind of like using paddle shifters, but with a stick.
Power is sent to the rear wheels, the engine’s in the front and the battery is mounted in the middle.
Toyota announced today that its bringing this odd hybrid sports car concept to the Tokyo Motor Show. It’s part of the new Japanese GR performance line that Toyota promised us.
It was unclear if that line would make it to the U.S. market, but here’s to hoping. Because I think this GR HV concept is a neat idea.